On the evening of May 9, Leverkusen was led 2-1 until the 90+6 minute but still had a 2-2 draw, thereby maintaining their unbeaten streak and winning tickets to the Europa League final.

At minute 82, Roma was leading 2-0 and thinking about extra time. Leverkusen unexpectedly found a goal to shorten the scoreline from a corner kick. Alejandro Grimaldo delivered an irritating cross causing goalkeeper Mile Svilar to fumble. The ball slipped past the Serbian goalkeeper’s hands, hit Gianluca Mancini’s face, changing direction into the net.

If the score remained 1-2, Leverkusen would still reach the final. However, “failure” seems to not exist in the dictionary of the Bay Arena’s home team this season.

In minute 90+7, Josip Stanisic dribbled on the left wing before cutting inside, then unleashed a dangerous shot, sealing a 2-2 draw for the Bundesliga representatives.

Stanisic’s dramatic goal, the player under contract with Bayern Munich and currently on loan at Leverkusen.

Leverkusen extended their unbeaten streak to 49 matches, a milestone unprecedented in European football history, breaking the record held by Benfica since 1965 (48 matches).

More importantly, coach Xabi Alonso’s team also achieved the goal of securing a spot in the Europa League final.

Leverkusen will face Atalanta in the final on May 23rd. The reigning German champions have the opportunity to clinch a treble as they have also reached the final of the national cup.

Leverkusen had their 16th match this season in which they came back or escaped defeat with goals from the 90th minute onwards.

After their 2-0 victory in the first leg, Leverkusen had no intention of sitting back when returning to their home ground. Coach Xabi Alonso’s squad actively pushed forward and exerted relentless pressure on Roma’s goal.

Despite their frequent attacks, Leverkusen failed to score due to two defensive mistakes. In the 43rd minute, Jonathan Tah brought down a Roma player in the penalty area. Then, in the 66th minute, Piero Hincapie handled the ball inside the penalty area.

Both incidents resulted in penalties, which Leandro Paredes capitalized on to score, equalizing the aggregate score to 2-2 over both legs.

Leverkusen had 32 attempts on goal but couldn’t find the net, relying on their opponent’s own goal to narrow the score to 1-2. On their 33rd and final shot of the match, coach Alonso’s team finally found the back of the net to maintain their unbeaten streak and advance directly to the final.