Josip Stanisic’s stoppage-time goal on Thursday night propelled Bayer Leverkusen to a record 49 games of unbeaten play, sending them to the Europa League final 4-2 on aggregate.
Leandro Paredes’ penalties in both half helped Roma tie the tie despite having little possession in a rematch of last season’s Europa League quarterfinal.
Roma had trailed 2-0 following the first leg. When extra time was approaching and the game was tied, Alex Grimaldo curled in a corner that Roma defender Gianluca Mancini failed to stop, sending the ball into the net.
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Then, in the seventh minute of added time, Stanisic broke Benfica’s European unbroken record, which dated back to 1965, and preserved Leverkusen’s incredible record of late goals.
With aspirations of a historic treble still alive, Bundesliga champions Leverkusen will play Atalanta in the final in Dublin on May 22.
Atalanta defeated Marseille 3-0 (4-1 on aggregate). Once more experimenting with tactics, Alonso made six changes, shockingly starting Adam Hlozek at the front of the line in place of star strikers Florian Wirtz, Victor Boniface, and former Roma striker Patrik Schick.
Leverkusen’s rhythm remained unaffected by the adjustments as they unleashed their offensive, tearing apart Roma with inventive, seamless movement.
In contrast, Roma put up a fight and made an effort to unnerve the Bundesliga champions, receiving four yellow cards in the first half hour.
Much of Roma’s roughhousing was directed at Exequiel Palacios, but after 29 minutes, the Argentine World Cup winner nearly got his retribution when his low drive struck the inside of the post and nearly bounced in off goalie Svilar’s back.
At the 38-minute mark, Svilar made a stunning double save to block efforts from Amine Adli and Hlozek.
Roma launched a long ball up the other end, and after Sardar Azmoun, a Bayer Leverkusen loanee, went down in a struggle with Jonathan Tah, the referee quickly pointed to the spot.
Before halftime, Roma was up 1-0 thanks to a goal from Argentine teammate Paredes, who was playing for Palacios.
Leverkusen was unable to capitalise on their control in the first half, and Roma secured another spot kick—this time via VAR for a handball against Hlozek—as the second half got underway.
Paredes tied the game with a second goal, putting the ball left to give his team a two-goal lead.
Roma, who had played at the same location in last year’s semifinal and ended up with a 0-0 tie and a berth in the final, had to hang on for dear life and often went to ground to maintain their lead.
Nine minutes remained, when Grimaldo of Leverkusen won another corner. The ball bounced in off Mancini’s face after swerving past goaltender Svilar and into Chris Smalling.
Roma attempted to force extra time, but Stanisic, a Bayern loanee, hammered the Italians on the counter, sending his colleagues reeling off the bench and preserving his team’s undefeated record for the entire season.