Football Leverkusen wins in Rome
“You have nothing to lose, we have everything to lose,” warns Alonso
As of: 06:57 a.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
“You have nothing to lose, we have everything to lose,” warns Alonso
Xabi Alonso happily high-fived his players in the impressive Stadio Olimpico in Rome – for Bayer Leverkusen the triple chance is greater than ever. The German champions defeated AS Roma on Thursday and laid the foundation for a place in the final of the Europa League.
Bayer Leverkusen comes into the game well in the next triple test and beats Rome 2-0. Florian Wirtz confirms his outstanding form. The champions are only missing a step into the final of the Europa League.
Xabi Alonso happily high-fived his players in the impressive Stadio Olimpico in Rome – for Bayer Leverkusen the triple chance is greater than ever. The German champions defeated AS Roma on Thursday and laid the foundation for a place in the final of the Europa League. Florian Wirtz (28th) and Robert Andrich (73rd) scored the goals in the 2-0 (1-0) and ensured a brilliant starting position for the second leg on May 9th in Leverkusen. Opponents in the final on May 22nd in Dublin would be Olympique Marseille or Atalanta Bergamo.
“It was to be expected that it would be a heated game given the backdrop, but I think we managed it very well,” said Andrich on RTL. “This has to give us a big boost. (…) Maybe we could have done one more, but nonetheless we completed our ‘first half’ well.”
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso tried to dampen excessive expectations immediately after the game. “The result is good, but it’s not over yet,” he said warningly. “There is still one game in Leverkusen. You have nothing to lose, we have everything to lose. Sometimes this is a difficult situation. I’ve seen a lot of comebacks. But we are ready.”
Bayer Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka and AS Roma’s Leonardo Spinazzola both see yellow cards from the referee
What: REUTERS
The team also remained unbeaten in the 47th competitive game of the season, with a maximum of six games left in the three competitions. Last year, Bayer, who played in the DFB Cup final against second division team 1. FC Kaiserslautern, failed in the semifinals against Roma, then coached by José Mourinho, without scoring their own goal. The dissatisfaction with the opponent’s destructive game caused a lot of discontent among the Leverkusen team.
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Alonso and the new AS coach Daniele De Rossi, who has been in charge since January, warmly greeted each other before kick-off, and the Leverkusen master coach once again started the game with a tactical surprise. Without a trained striker, the Werkself tried to lure the hosts, which was only moderately successful in the somewhat tough opening phase. Wirtz acted as a so-called hanging striker, and Amine Adli missed the shot on her first approach to the penalty area (8th).
“We thought about something with the coach and it worked quite well,” said defense chief Jonathan Tah: “They probably expected something different.”
Leverkusen’s biggest and ultimately well-solved task on this warm summer evening in Rome was to keep the massive Romelu Lukaku under control. The 1.91 meter tall Belgian at the top was repeatedly sought by his teammates with long balls; in the 21st minute he hit the crossbar with his head after a corner.
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The great opportunity arose in a phase in which Leverkusen was exposed to constant pressure – but was able to free itself again and again with pinprick counterattacks in the style of a master. Jeremie Frimpong initially only hit the side netting (23′), Wirtz then converted Alejandro Grimaldo’s careful preparatory work to take the lead after a serious mistake by Dutchman Rick Karsdorp. Wirtz celebrated his tenth goal in the last 13 competitive games.
As usual, Alonso delegated his team energetically on the sidelines. Wirtz tried again shortly after his goal, but this time he was denied by goalkeeper Mile Svilar (31′), who subsequently had to intervene several times. Leverkusen was already more successful in front of goal against the traditional Italian club than last season. The 2,500 Bayer fans who traveled with us – 3,100 could have gotten tickets – were able to feel very entertained.
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Leverkusen remained confident and attentive well into the second half. The Roma only hinted at their offensive power for long stretches; in the Stadio Olimpico it was pretty quiet in the stands of the Roman fans after just over an hour.
Shortly before the start of the final phase, Andrich scored a remarkable goal from a distance under the crossbar and decided the game. A year ago, the goalscorer seriously injured his foot in Rome and was out for months.