This article was already written to begin flatly with the words “all great pipes break in time”. However, the incomprehensible and sensational Bayer Leverkusen did it again.
The second legs of the Europa League semi-finals were played on Thursday evening. Leverkusen lost 1-2 at home against AS Roma, but that would have been enough for a place in the final, as Leverkusen had won the opening leg 2-0.
Then the last minute of the seven minutes extra time given by the referee was played. Granit Xhaka the winger played a vertical pass to the right wing For Josip Stanisic. The Croatian wandered into the penalty area and buried the ball with his left foot in the back corner.
– Will not lose, never. Never loses, Viaplay’s narrator said with laughter Ville Kuusinen.
After the equalizing goal, social media conversations were filled with wondering how this is possible in the first place, and on the other hand, admiring how eagerly Leverkusen sought an equaliser, even if the loss of a goal would have been enough.
Leverkusen’s hero coach With Xabi Alonso instead, his expression didn’t even waver. These have been seen.
The match ended 2–2 and Leverkusen advanced to the final with 4–2 on aggregate.
Leandro Paredes had hit from the penalty kicks in the 43rd and 66th minutes, when Roma had risen to level on aggregate goals. In the 82nd minute, the ball hit Roma About Gianluca Mancini with a corner kick into their own net, and Leverkusen once again caught up with the next place.
With Leverkusen’s goal he made a save Matej Kovartherefore Lukas Hradecky followed the match from the bench. This is how Leverkusen has gambled throughout the season. Kovar has rejected the European games. Hradecky managed to take home the Bundesliga championship as captain and as the last lock.
Against Roma, Leverkusen took the scoring attempts 33–12 and the expected goal 3.04–2.33, so in that respect the equalizer was again deserved.
Nut crazy
Although Leverkusen has had a sensational season, what makes it crazy is how they have kept their unbeaten streak alive.
On April 27, a 2-2 draw against Stuttgart in the Bundesliga in 90+6.
On April 21, a 1-1 draw against Dortmund in the Bundesliga in 90+7.
18 April 1–1 equalizer to net West Ham in the Europa League in the 89th minute.
On March 30, a 2–1 win over Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga with a goal in the 88th minute and 90+1 minutes.
Europa League playoffs against Qarabag in March. In the opening match, tie in time 90+2. In the second leg, the equalizer in time 90+3 and the winning goal in time 90+9.
That’s just a recap from recent times. Leverkusen have scored 17 goals in the 90th minute or later this season.
Bayer Leverkusen had secured the German Bundesliga championship some time ago and will also play in the German Cup final on May 25.
Leverkusen’s incredible season will also continue in the Europa League final, which will be played on May 22.
Historical
Leverkusen’s streak of unbeaten matches, including all competitions, is now 49 matches long. That streak, which includes 40 wins and nine draws, is clearly the longest in history by any team from Europe’s five biggest leagues.
From Europe’s top 5 leagues (in all competitions)
Germany: Leverkusen, 48 matches, August 2023-May 2024
Italy: Juventus, 43 games, May 2011–May 2012
English: Nottingham Forest, 40 games, March 1978–November 1978
Spain: Real Madrid, 40 games, April 2016-January 2017
France: PSG, 37 games, August 1993–April 1994
Before the second meeting with Roma The BBC paintedthat Leverkusen can do one of the all-time tricks in football history: a whole season without losses and a triple championship.
The BBC tried to put into perspective just how big an achievement the Invincible Treble would be. Celtic won three trophies at home in 2016–17, but lost in the Champions League.
Ajax was unbeaten in the Champions League and in their domestic league in 1994–95, but lost in the Dutch Cup.
Leverkusen have four matches to reach this unprecedented achievement, including two in the Bundesliga and the German Cup and Europa League finals.
And that’s not all. The 49 matches is the longest unbeaten run by any European Premier League team in UEFA statistics since 1955 – that is, since cup competitions between European countries have been played.
Legendary Eusebio Between 1963 and 1965, Benfica played 48 straight games without defeat.
Uefa says, that Celtic went 62 games unbeaten from 1915–17 and Union Saint-Gilloise went 60 games unbeaten from 1933–35. However, those pipes only contained matches in domestic leagues. Leverkusen is now third in UEFA’s list, which covers the entire history.
Leverkusen had come to be known as “Neverkusen”, because until this year the big wins had gone around. Now it has become “Neverlusen” or “Neverlosing”.
Midfield stalwart Granit Xhaka considered AS Roma’s draw fully deserved considering the events of the game, but emphasized his team’s mentality.
– You can see the team’s desire. We didn’t want to slow down. We wanted to score the next goal to stay unbeaten. Now 49 times. We are proud of it.
Leverkusen has won the Bundesliga for the first time this season. It has one trophy from Europe, the Uefa Cup, or the current Europa League, in 1988. In the Champions League final, Leverkusen lost to Real Madrid in 2002.
In the final of the Europa League, Leverkusen will face the Italian team Atalanta, who beat Marseille in the semi-finals 4–1 on aggregate.
Atalanta have never won Serie A or played in a final in European competitions.