Roma troubled the unbeatable Leverkusen, but fell in the Europa League due to a late draw

Roma came very close to making history this Thursday, May 9th. The Italian team traveled to Germany to face Bayer Leverkusen at the BayArena, in the second leg of the Europa League semi-finals, and almost ended the Bundesliga champion’s unbeaten run and advanced to the decision of the continental tournament in one fell swoop. The Giallorossi had hopes of qualifying because they took the 2-0 lead gained by the Germans in the first leg and took the match to extra time. However, the Aspirans don’t give their fans any headaches: they reduced the score at 83 and drew at 97, maintaining their run of 49 matches without defeat and guaranteeing passage to the final, against Atalanta.

In the second duel between Daniele De Rossi’s team and the team led by Xabi Alonso, frankness was the keynote. Roma had Dybala missing, who even went to the bench, but without physical conditions. Still, he didn’t shy away from attacking, albeit with some caution: he had Lukaku and Azmoun as references at the front and organization in charge of Pellegrini, Paredes and El Shaarawy. On the other hand, Bayer Leverkusen spared important players, such as Wirtz, Boniface and Andrich, but maintained their characteristics.

Roma started out wanting to show their service and, just three minutes into the game, Lukaku dominated a chest throw, but the ball escaped and ended up in the hands of goalkeeper Kovar. From then on, Bayer Leverkusen took control of the match. At 16, after a good exchange of passes, Palacios filled the ball and Svilar defended.

Then, Pellegrini tried to respond with a headbutt, but stopped at the Czech archer. It was a spasm from Roma, as Bayer Leverkusen ended up sending a real bomber to the goal defended by Svilar until the end of the first half. Before that, De Rossi had to replace the injured Spinazzola with Zalewski. There was confusion at that moment, as Frimpong decided to continue playing even with his professional colleague down – three players ended up receiving a yellow card due to the altercation.

In Leverkusen’s pressure, Hlozek was stopped at the last minute by Mancini and, in the 25th minute, took a dangerous free kick, causing Svilar to concede a corner. Already in the 29th minute, Palacios shot from outside the area and hit the post; the ball even touched the Serbian archer’s back and had to be cleared away by Ndicka. Then, Frimpong received the ball in the area and hit it, forcing the goalkeeper to make a save, putting the ball out for a corner.

Devilish, Svilar would make another two spectacular saves in a row before the end of the opening half, around the 40th minute. First with a strong kick from Adli; Then, while he was still on the ground, he managed to block Hlozek’s shot with his body.

The interventions would be fundamental, as they would keep the score tied and allow Roma to take the lead in the 43rd minute, thanks to a stupid penalty by Tah on Azmoun – who, ironically, is on loan to Loba from Bayer Leverkusen himself. Angeliño had crossed for Lukaku, but the German defender decided to pull the Iranian by the shirt, out of the way. Paredes went for the penalty and, hitting the middle, scored the first of the match.

The goal encouraged Roma, who realized the possibility of achieving a feat even if they were under pressure from Leverkusen. Before the break, Tapsoba had to make a crucial cut to avoid the Italians’ second. After the rest, the capital’s team continued in the same vein and Kovar had to make important saves from shots from Azmoun and El Shaarawy – before that, a shot from Adli went between Ndicka’s legs and scraped the Giallorossa post.

Bayer Leverkusen continued to have a lot of game volume, however. Thus, in a quick counterattack, in the 59th minute, Hoffman came face to face with Svilar, who made another great save. Already in his 61st year, after Pellegrini’s wrong start, the Serb had to work again, this time against Hlozek. The Czech striker, however, would ease the burden for Roma shortly afterwards, when he got a hand on the ball inside the area and conceded another penalty to the visitors. Referee Danny Makkelie confirmed the infraction after the VAR called for a review and Paredes didn’t waste the gift: he hit the corner and scored his doppietta.

When Adli, well positioned, wasted another chance for Bayer Leverkusen, it looked like it wasn’t really the German champions’ day. Xabi Alonso even took Wirtz off the bench, expecting the reaction, but the fact is that the aspirins’ lack of luck was just an impression. And this would be confirmed in the final 15 minutes.

A bizarre own goal cooled Roma’s spirits (Getty)

At 82, the bucket of cold water came for De Rossi’s team. In a corner, Svilar, who had been playing an impeccable game until then, missed his goal badly and collided with Smalling, who had just entered. The ball went through everyone and hit Mancini, who scored a completely unintentional own goal – another cruelty, given that the defender scored decisive goals in the season and qualified Roma for the continental semi-finals with two of them, against Milan.

The goal forced Roma to start attacking once and for all, as only one more goal, which would force extra time, was of interest to the Giallorossi. However, Loba did not create any more dangerous opportunities, while Svilar was bombarded again – and responded.

In the 87th minute, in a counterattack, Frimpong came face to face with Svilar and stopped in another excellent save from the Serb. Shortly afterwards, at 89, the Serbian made another key intervention in the private clash with the Dutchman. In stoppage time, the Czech Schick tried to trigger his ex’s law with a shot from midfield, with the aim of covering up the goalkeeper, but the ball went wide.

There were just over 40 seconds left in the match, and Bayer Leverkusen decided that they were not going to give up the points and lose for the first time in the 49th game of the season, which would mark the achievement of the European unbeaten record. In the 97th minute, Xhaka found Croatian Stanisic, who cut through Paredes and, left-footed, fired into the net, tying the match. It was the seventh time this season that the Red and Blacks avoided defeat with goals in stoppage time.

Roma fell, but stood. Even though eliminated – and by one of the best teams in the world at the moment –, they showed the mental strength to react and confirmed that they have been able to compete in European competitions. Now, Loba turns all her strength to the Italian Championship. After all, on Sunday there will be a direct confrontation for a place in the next Champions League with Atalanta, the team with which they share fifth place in Serie A. The triumph in Bergamo would be vital to gain an advantage in the duel and not depend on the result of the clash between Dea and Fiorentina, who will only play the game delayed by the death of violet director Joe Barone on June 2, after the end of the regular season.