Werkself review #B04ASR: “Treble dream lives on”

Summary: Trailing from two penalties before late fightback

It was end to end from the start at the BayArena, with chances falling to Roma’s Romelu Lukaku and Lorenzo Pellegrini either side of one for Exequiel Palacios, while the lively Adam Hlozek also had two attempts in quick succession. Palacios then came closest when he struck the post just after the half-hour mark, with the ball bouncing off the back of goalkeeper Mile Svilar but somehow not over the line. The Bundesliga champions took greater control as things went on, before referee Danny Makkelie awarded the visitors a penalty when Jonathan Tah pulled down Leverkusen loanee Sardar Azmoun in the box. Leandro Paredes converted to put Roma ahead on the night just before half-time. The Dutch official then pointed to the spot again on 66 minutes after reviewing a potential handball following a Roma corner. Again, Paredes beat Matej Kovar to restore parity on aggregate. But this Werkself team always hit back. An Alejandro Grimaldo corner was missed by Svilar before bouncing into the net off captain Gianluca Mancini for an own goal with seven minutes of normal time to go. Although losing 2-1 on the night, it would’ve been enough to ensure progress to the final, but Leverkusen simply kept going, looking for that equaliser that would make it 49 games unbeaten this season. And of course it came, deep into added time, when substitute Josip Stanisic cut inside and picked out the far corner in the 97th minute to make it 2-2 and spark wild celebrations as Bayer 04 advanced to the final 4-2 on aggregate. You can read more about the game in our match report.

Reaction: “Fans gave us the right push”

Granit Xhaka was quick to praise the fans after the final whistle: “Having them behind us gave us the right push to get forward again. Huge thanks to the fans inside the stadium, but also those at home.” Goalscorer Stanisic added: “You can’t describe it. Who would’ve thought before the season that we’d play so well and have such good results? It’s not over yet. We’ll give our all.”

Head coach Xabi Alonso said at his post-match press conference: “I saw in the lads’ eyes that they believed they could turn this game around. I’m very proud of the team. Getting to play two finals in one week is incredible. Now we’ve got the big goal of winning all three titles.” Managing director for sport Simon Rolfes also spoke to the media: “We thoroughly deserve to be through. We showed morale and tenacity. The motivation for both finals is huge. We want to take the drive and the feeling of always being able to score a goal to Dublin and Berlin.”

Press review: “Incredible Leverkusen”

kicker wrote of a “turbulent game with a comical own goal”, also adding “Bayer and added time: Stanisic keeps run going”. Bild opened their reporting with the words “Leverkusen drama! Treble dream lives on,” also looking at the run of now 49 games without defeat: “This team simply cannot lose.” The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ran with the title: “Incredible Leverkusen”. While the Frankfurter Rundschau spoke of a “party in Leverkusen”. For the Rheinische Post, the Werkself are simply “unbeatable”.

Personnel: Lively Hlozek and last-minute Stanisic

Hlozek made back-to-back starts for the first time this season, with Alonso giving the bullish Czech striker the nod once again in this knockout game following his hat-trick of assists in the 5-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend. The 21-year-old once again demonstrated the threat he poses in front of goal, having six attempts in the first half alone – one more than the entire Roma team. He finished the game with seven shots in total, which is the joint most by a Leverkusen player in this season’s Europa League.

While Hlozek’s evening was done with a quarter of an hour of regular time left, the night shift only started in added time for Stanisic. And seven minutes later he had the fans and his teammates celebrating. Like he did to snatch a 1-1 draw in Dortmund, the Croatia international again struck seven minutes beyond the 90, this time to make it 2-2 and keep the Werkself’s remarkable run going. It was Stanisic’s third Europa League game in a row in which he’s contributed a goal, scoring one and providing two assists.

Statistics: New European record

The draw means Bayer 04 are now unbeaten in their last 49 competitive fixtures, surpassing the European record previously held by Benfica when they went 48 without loss in 1963/64. Leverkusen already set a new record for a club in one of Europe’s top five leagues at 44 games in April.

When it comes to the Europa League, it’s no surprise that the Werkself have spawned numerous new nicknames, such as Last-Minute-Kusen or Laterkusen. Stanisic’s equaliser was the ninth the team have scored in the final quarter-hour of European games this season – the most in the competition. And it was the fifth by one of Alonso’s substitutes, which is also the most of any team.

The match stats also heavily favoured the hosts at the BayArena, with 60 percent possession, 54 percent of challenges won and a better pass completion rate (91% vs. 82%), plus a remarkable 32 shots to Roma's 11 .

Outlook: Bochum then Meisterschale

The week continues with Bayer 04’s last away game of the Bundesliga season in Bochum on Sunday (7.30pm CEST), at the venue where the Werkself suffered their most recent competitive defeat on the final day of 2022/23. The following Saturday, Augsburg come to the BayArena for the final day of the league campaign (3.30pm), when Leverkusen will be presented with the Meisterschale for the first time in their history.