In a riveting turn of events last night, Bayer Leverkusen, led by coach Xabi Alonso, made a remarkable leap towards securing a historic treble by advancing to the UEFA Europa League final, outplaying Italian giants AS Roma. This comes shortly after the team's triumph in the German Bundesliga and their qualification for the DFB-Pokal final on May 25. Last night's match against Roma not only pushed Leverkusen into the final slated for May 22 in Dublin but also extended their unbeaten streak to a record-breaking 49 games across all competitions, eclipsing Benfica's record set between 1963 and 1965.
Leverkusen's journey to the final was nothing short of dramatic, as they managed a stunning comeback to draw 2-2 after trailing by two goals, securing a 4-2 aggregate victory in the semi-finals. "We have two finals in a week; today we showed incredible spirit after their second goal. I looked into my players' eyes, and I could see they wanted more. We still have a chance for three titles, and they deserve all three," Alonso confidently stated.
Fortune favored Leverkusen when AS Roma's Gianluca Mancini accidentally scored an own goal in the 82nd minute. Croatian international substitute Josip Stanisic landed the equalizer just before the final whistle, marking what he described as "one of the greatest moments in my professional career."
For AS Roma, the dream of reaching the Europa League final for the second consecutive year, after last year's penalty shootout loss to Sevilla, vanished in the final moments. Roma's coach, Daniele De Rossi, expressed his heartbreak to Sky Sports Italy: "After fighting back from 2-0 down and coming close to a miracle against a team that hasn't lost all season, to lose a goal like that is painful."
As Bayer Leverkusen steers towards an unprecedented treble with the entire team soaring high on ambition, the final stages of this season could write new history for the German club, promising thrilling encounters in both domestic and European fronts.