Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw with Roma in the Europa League on Thursday night means the German side are unbeaten in 49 games and broke the record for the longest unbeaten run against a European club since the advent of UEFA club competitions in 1955.
Leverkusen led their game against Roma with two goals after the opening clash, looking set to lose their first game of the season after two goals from Leandro Paredes gave the Italian club the lead.
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However, an own goal from Gianluca Mancini in the 82nd minute and an equaliser from Josip Stanisic in the 97th minute saw Leverkusen advance to the Europa League final after a 4-2 aggregate win.
Stanisic’s goal, meanwhile, is Leverkusen’s 17th in added time this season.
Leverkusen midfielder Granit Khaka told TNT Sports: “That’s football. That’s the beautiful component of football. Because of the mentality we showed at the back, we showed a wonderful team to come back like this and go through to the final. We are more than satisfied. “
“You can see the preference of the team, we didn’t have to slow down. We tried to score the next goal to remain undefeated, 49 times so far. We are proud of it.
The unbeaten run in all competitions began with an 8-0 against FC Teutonia Ottensen in the German Cup on 12 August, surpassing Portugal’s Benfica record of 48 consecutive matches without defeat from December 1963 to February 1965.
This Benfica team was controlled by Eusebio and won the Portuguese league and cup for their unbeaten streak.
Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen have avoided defeat in 32 Bundesliga games, five German Cup games and 12 Europa League games, winning 40 of them.
Unsurprisingly, this left them on the verge of a hat-trick. They have already won the Bundesliga, ending Bayern Munich’s dominance for 11 seasons, against second-tier Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final on May 25 and Atalanta in the Europa League final in May. 22.
If Leverkusen also avoid defeat in their last two league games, they will be the first team in Bundesliga history to remain unbeaten for an entire season.
Here are the longest unbeaten streaks by a European club since 1955: