Leverkusen mounted a late comeback to stretch their unbeaten run to 49 games and seal a place in their first Europa League final in 22 years with a 2-2 draw earning them a 4-2 aggregate victory over Roma in their semi-final second leg.
They will face another Italian side, Atalanta, in the decider in Dublin on May 22.
Uefa.com reports that Roma started brightly and made the game’s first openings, including one from Romelu Lukaku, which required Matěj Kovář to come off his line quickly and block. Otherwise, it was Leverkusen who had the better openings for much of the opening period but the closest they came was through Exequiel Palacios, whose shot hit the post and Mile Svilar’s back before the ball was scrambled clear.
The visitors sought to exploit the missed opportunities and were given their chance when Jonathan Tah brought down Sardar Azmoun, playing against his parent club. Leandro Paredes sent the resulting penalty down the middle to cut his team’s aggregate deficit in half going into the break.
Leverkusen turned up the pressure after the restart, taking their number of attempts on goal beyond 20, but it was Roma who struck again – and from the spot once more. This time Adam Hložek was penalised for handball, with Paredes finishing well again to restore overall parity.
The away side barely threatened a third and, instead, it was Leverkusen who struck next – albeit thanks to an own goal from Gianluca Mancini. Grimaldo’s deep corner evaded everyone as it came in but for the defender, who saw the ball bounce off him into the net.
With Roma piling forward in a bid to force extra time, Leverkusen sliced through their defence in the closing stages, Josip Stanišić cutting inside to fire in and make it 49 games unbeaten – and seal his side’s place in Dublin.
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