Leverkusen –
Bayer Leverkusen held 2-2 by AS Roma in the second leg of the semifinals Europa League this season. However, Xabi Alonso’s team still advanced to the final after winning 4-2 on aggregate.
Playing at BayArena, Friday (10/5/2024) early morning WIB, Leverkusen, who appeared dominant, actually conceded via Leandro Paredes’ penalty in the 43rd minute. The 29-year-old midfielder then doubled the score in the 66th minute, also through the penalty spot.
Gianluca Mancini’s own goal in the 83rd minute made the score 1-2 in the 83rd minute. Josip Stanisic then scored a goal in injury time to ensure the score was 2-2 at the end of the match.
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A 2-0 win in Rome in the first leg last week ensured Leverkusen progressed to the final with a 4-2 aggregate. They will meet Atalanta in the final on May 23.
The course of the match
Roma had been threatening since the 4th minute, but a golden opportunity through Romelu Lukaku’s close-range shot was successfully thwarted by Leverkusen goalkeeper, Matej Kovar. Leverkusen pressed back via Granit Xhaka’s long-range shot in the 9th minute, but the ball bounced over the goal.
Exequiel Palacios also fired a long-range shot in the 16th minute, but it was blocked by Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar. Piero Hincapie’s similar attempt not long ago failed to meet its target.
Lorenzo Pellegrini’s low shot in the 17th minute was saved by Kovar. Leverkusen then had five golden opportunities. Svilar parried Adam Hlozek’s shot in the 25th minute, then Palacios’ shot four minutes later.
Jeremie Frimpong’s long-range shot was also saved by the Serbian goalkeeper in the 32nd minute. Amine Adli’s kick in the 39th minute and Hlozek’s kick not long ago experienced a similar fate. In the 43rd minute, Roma actually opened the scoring.
Jonathan Tah’s violation of Sardar Azmoun in the penalty box made the referee point to the spot. Leandro Paredes stepped up as a kicker and successfully broke into Kovar’s goal.
The Argentine midfielder then equalized with a penalty shot in the 66th minute. This time the 12th shot was awarded due to Hlozek’s handball. The 2-0 score brought the match back to a 2-2 draw on aggregate, but good luck still overshadowed the hosts.
Gianluca Mancini’s mistake in dealing with a corner kick in the 83rd minute resulted in an own goal into his own net. The 2-1 score meant that Roma had to look for a third goal because they were behind again on aggregate, but Daniele De Rossi’s team actually conceded the second goal.
Through a counter-attack, Josip Stanisic’s shot into the left corner of the goal in the 90+7 minute ensured that Leverkusen survived defeat and extended their unbeaten record this season to 49 matches and guaranteed a place in Dublin.
Lineup
Bayer Leverkusen: Matej Kovar, Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah, Piero Hincapie, Jeremie Frimpong (Josip Stanisic 90′), Exequiel Palacios, Granit Xhaka, Alex Grimaldo (Odilon Kossounou 90′), Jonas Hofmann (Florian Wirtz 81′), Adam Hlozek (Patrik Schick 74′), Amine Adli.
AS Roma: Mile Svilar, Angelino (Chris Smalling 81′), Gianluca Mancini, Evan Ndicka, Leonardo Spinazzola (Nicola Zalewski 21′), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Tammy Abraham 81′), Leandro Paredes, Bryan Cristante, Stephan El Shaarawy, Romelu Lukaku, Sardar Azmoun (Edoardo Bove 72′).
(adp/ran)