Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen broke an all-time record after extending their unbeaten run to 49 games thanks to a stunning 97th-minute equaliser against Roma.
Following Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw with the Serie A side, they will now face Atalanta in the Europa League final in Dublin later this month, having won the semi-final 4-2 on aggregate following a 2-0 first-leg win.
However, two exchanged consequences from Leandro Paredes brought Leverkusen to the brink of their first defeat before Alonso’s men pulled off a remarkable comeback. Gianluca Mancini scored an own goal in the 82nd minute to give them hope and Josip Stanisic sparked wild celebrations at the BayArena. locating the back of the net in the 97th minute.
Leverkusen’s 17th goal in added time this season means the club now holds the record for the longest unbeaten run in European football (in all competitions). The previous record had been held for 59 years thanks to Benfica, who remained unbeaten for 48 games. between 1963 and 1965.
Leverkusen have already won the Bundesliga for the first time in their history and will now be hoping to achieve a historic treble by also winning the Europa League and the German Cup.
“You can see the team’s preference, we didn’t need to slow down,” Granit Xhaka told TNT Sports after the aggregate win over Roma. “We were trying to score the next goal to stay unbeaten, 49 times so far.
“We’re proud of that. We have a lot of respect for Atalanta and, above all, we are satisfied to be in the final. Now we have time to prepare and analyse, but we still have a few games left. “
Defender Jérémie Frimpong added: “We had to work hard. It was a very difficult game, a semi-final against a very sensible team and we did everything wonderfully. We were the best team and the most productive team won. “
“Nothing happened, we were missing it but this season we’ve been phenomenal and we can’t be ruled out. . . Not even for a second. We deserved this victory. No one gives up. Everybody knows that if we get down there he’ll score a pass. “
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