Roma 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen: Bundesliga champions in command of Europa League tie

By Ciara FlemingBBC Sport

Last updated on 2 May 2024.From the section European Football186

Andrich celebrates scoring the second for Leverkusen — Bayer Leverkusen's unbeaten run in all competitions now stands at 47 matches

Bayer Leverkusen claimed a 2-0 first-leg victory at Roma to take command of their Europa League semi-final.

Goals from Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich gave the Bundesliga champions only their second win in Italy.

Roma had just two shots on target with striker Romelu Lukaku cutting an isolated figure before being replaced after 80 minutes.

Substitute Tammy Abraham spurned a golden chance to reduce the arrears in stoppage time.

After an opening half hour short on quality, Leverkusen broke the deadlock when full-back Alex Grimaldo raced on to a misplaced backpass before setting up midfielder Wirtz for his 18th goal of the season.

Hosts Roma hit back with a flurry of chances but were unable to find a leveller before the interval.

Midfielder Andrich then doubled Leverkusen's lead midway through the second half, firing into the top-left corner from long range.

'To win the Bundesliga is unthinkable' - Leverkusen make history by winning title

The victory stretched Xabi Alonso's side's unbeaten run to 47 matches in all competitions.

The other semi-final first leg between Marseille and Atalanta finished 1-1 at Stade Velodrome.

Forward Gianluca Scamacca put the visitors ahead after 11 minutes before defender Chancel Mbemba equalised with a long-range strike nine minutes later.

Both sides missed further chances, with the tie left in the balance before the second leg in Bergamo next week.

Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text

Line-ups

Roma

Formation 4-3-3

99Svilar
2KarsdorpSubstituted forAngelinoat 62'minutes
23Mancini
6Smalling
37SpinazzolaBooked at 74mins
4CristanteBooked at 78mins
16ParedesSubstituted forBaldanziat 79'minutes
7PellegriniBooked at 30mins
21DybalaSubstituted forAbrahamat 90+1'minutes
90LukakuSubstituted forAzmounat 79'minutes
92El Shaarawy

Substitutes

1Rui Patrício
5Ndicka
9Abraham
14Llorente
17Azmoun
20Renato Sanches
22Aouar
35Baldanzi
52Bove
59Zalewski
63Boer
69Angelino

B Leverkusen

Formation 3-4-2-1

17Kovár
12Tapsoba
4TahBooked at 16mins
3Hincapié
2Stanisic
8AndrichBooked at 76mins
34XhakaBooked at 74mins
20GrimaldoSubstituted forKossounouat 90+3'minutes
30FrimpongSubstituted forPalaciosat 88'minutes
21AdliSubstituted forTellaat 77'minutes
10WirtzSubstituted forHofmannat 77'minutes

Substitutes

1Hrádecky
6Kossounou
7Hofmann
9Iglesias
13de Matos Soares
14Schick
19Tella
22Boniface
23Hlozek
25Palacios
32Puerta
36Lomb

Referee:: François Letexier
Attendance:: 64,073

Match Stats

Home TeamRomaAway TeamB Leverkusen

Possession: Home53%; Away47%

Shots: Home8; Away19

Shots on Target: Home2; Away4

Corners: Home4; Away2

Fouls: Home6; Away12

Live Text

Post update
Match ends, Roma 0, Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2.
90'+5'
Full Time
Second Half ends, Roma 0, Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2.

90'+5'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Exequiel Palacios (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
90'+4'
Post update
Attempt missed. Tammy Abraham (Roma) header from very close range is too high. Assisted by Stephan El Shaarawy.
90'+3'
Substitution
Substitution, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Odilon Kossounou replaces Álex Grimaldo.
90'+1'
Substitution
Substitution, Roma. Tammy Abraham replaces Paulo Dybala.
89'
Post update
Foul by Gianluca Mancini (Roma).
89'
Post update
Álex Grimaldo (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
88'
Substitution
Substitution, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Exequiel Palacios replaces Jeremie Frimpong.
86'
Post update
Offside, Roma. Sardar Azmoun is caught offside.
85'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Gianluca Mancini with a cross.
84'
Post update
Attempt saved. Sardar Azmoun (Roma) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Lorenzo Pellegrini with a through ball.
79'
Substitution
Substitution, Roma. Tommaso Baldanzi replaces Leandro Paredes.
79'
Substitution
Substitution, Roma. Sardar Azmoun replaces Romelu Lukaku.
78'
Booking
Bryan Cristante (Roma) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
77'
Post update
Nathan Tella (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
77'
Post update
Foul by Bryan Cristante (Roma).
77'
Substitution
Substitution, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Nathan Tella replaces Amine Adli.
77'
Substitution
Substitution, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Jonas Hofmann replaces Florian Wirtz.
76'
Booking
Robert Andrich (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

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186 comments

Comment posted by KingCarlos, at 02:36 3 May
They will have to change their name to Bayer Neverluzen
Reply posted by aspiadas, at 05:00 3 May
aspiadas replied:
Ha ha...nice
Comment posted by Wee Brian, at 22:27 2 May
What an unbelievable season Leverkusen are having.
Reply posted by Footy_fan, at 04:15 3 May
Footy_fan replied:
Treble is on!
Comment posted by Ron, at 22:22 2 May
BL. Team of Europe this season I think. By some distance.
Reply posted by Along came Wolly, at 22:24 2 May
Along came Wolly replied:
Absolutely
Comment posted by funky chicken, at 22:24 2 May
Xhaka may finish the season with 3 trophies 🏆 well deserved good for him
Comment posted by the peoples poet, at 22:27 2 May
SENSATIONAL run for Leverkusen, bravo for breaking the Bayern Munich boredom fest.
Reply posted by User0921224906, at 22:28 2 May
User0921224906 replied:
Bravo as well, considering Bayern will go on to win UCL #7.
Comment posted by OliverDMcCall, at 23:36 2 May
Neverlusen continue their astonishing run, I hope they complete the treble.
Comment posted by Grizzlybadger, at 22:47 2 May
Unbelievable season for Xabi’s men I hope they end the season undefeated in all competitions
Comment posted by Toby, at 00:46 3 May
Up there with Clough’s achievements at Notts Forest and Ranieri’s with Leicester with maximising the absolute most out of a squad that, on paper, could never dream of a season like that. Legendary. If they finish the season unbeaten.
Reply posted by Heather, at 07:50 3 May
Heather replied:
With the greatest respect but you cannot compare Leicester City (my team in England) who won the Championship eight times with Leverkusen which are a mainstay of the Bundesliga & Ranieri with Alonso. Leverkusen are not an underdog in Germany. I would compare Clough with Otto Rehhagel (a maverick). Rehhagel won the Bundesliga with a team that was just promoted & the European Cup with Greece.
Comment posted by User0921224906, at 22:29 2 May
Well done Leverkusen, keep it up, and please win the DFB Cup final so we could possibly see Augsburg or Heidenheim play in Europe next season.
Well done BUNDESLIGA!!
Reply posted by The Joker, at 23:58 2 May
The Joker replied:
Would be more interesting to see Kaiserslautern (second division) play in Europe
Comment posted by Catalan Dragon, at 23:50 2 May
The German league, with his supporter
Centric system, is doing well!
Reply posted by chris, at 00:35 3 May
chris replied:
Except that Leverkusen; the Bundesliga champions, the team on an unrivaled unbeaten run, a team that are making history as we speak….. Are an exception to the supporter centric system that you speak highly of.
Comment posted by Some bloke on the internet, at 00:00 3 May
what a season well done Xabi
Comment posted by Myself ls, at 23:21 2 May
Amazing achievement by Bayer
Comment posted by Rosnovski, at 03:45 3 May
German league looks to be the strongest in Europe.
Reply posted by Lord Pep, at 04:16 3 May
Lord Pep replied:
Yes, with better referee, less influence of betting, less dramatic commentators and unbiased media.
Comment posted by Mustrum Ridcully, at 00:06 3 May
If only they were in the UCL. Them facing Real Madrid could've been the tie of the tournament.
Reply posted by LeaveMeAlone, at 02:17 3 May
LeaveMeAlone replied:
There’s a fair chance that’ll be the line-up for the European Super Cup.
Comment posted by LeighRichards, at 01:21 3 May
Forget whoever wins the champions lge - Leverkusen are the best team in Europe by some distance
Reply posted by Dave, at 03:39 3 May
Dave replied:
No.
Comment posted by hamsuns, at 07:23 3 May
What a season for Alonso and Bayer as a team, but also for Granit Xhaka - under the radar quietly showing his class
Comment posted by Trencin Reds, at 05:28 3 May
Looking at German teams in Europe this season, the Bundesliga is clearly the best in the world at the moment.
Reply posted by Heather, at 07:42 3 May
Heather replied:
I don't know. Not so important. But it's nice to see that our sides do well. And we have the Euros in our country this year. Three teams in the semifinals that's good for German football.
Comment posted by EdComics, at 06:21 3 May
Unbelievable from Bayer 04. On for the treble. Go Treblekusen. I don't remember Roma losing at home under Rossi except to Inter!
Reply posted by Valiant54, at 06:42 3 May
Valiant54 replied:
I agree , Leverkusen are a fine team . The treble is definitely on for them. Roma are a very difficult side to get anything from at the Stadio Olímpico.
Comment posted by SOIMED , at 05:26 3 May
This year is just Leverkusen year and hope to see them doing well in the CL next season
Comment posted by Chief Wiggum, at 22:56 2 May
Bananas. Hope they do it

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1	Rangers	6	3	2	1	8	6	2	11
2	Sparta Prague	6	3	1	2	9	7	2	10
3	Real Betis	6	3	0	3	9	7	2	9
4	Aris Limassol	6	1	1	4	7	13	-6	4

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1		Villarreal	6	4	1	1	9	7	2	13
2		Rennes	6	4	0	2	13

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1	West Ham	6	5	0	1	10	4	6	15
2	Freiburg	6	4	0	2	17	7	10	12
3	Olympiakos	6	2	1	3	11	14	-3	7
4	Backa Topola	6	0	1	5	6	19	-13	1

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1	Brighton	6	4	1	1	10	5	5	13
2	Marseille	6	3	2	1	14	10	4	11
3	Ajax	6	1	2	3	10	13	-3	5
4	AEK Athens	6	1	1	4	6	12	-6	4

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1	Atalanta	6	4	2	0	12	4	8	14
2	Sporting	6	3	2	1	10	6	4	11
3	SK Sturm Graz	6	1	1	4	4	9	-5	4
4	Raków Czestochowa	6	1	1	4	3	10	-7	4

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1	Liverpool	6	4	0	2	17	7	10	12
2	Toulouse	6	3	2	1	8	9	-1	11
3	Union Saint-Gilloise	6	2	2	2	5	8	-3	8
4	LASK	6	1	0	5	6	12	-6	3

Line-ups

Roma

Substitutes

B Leverkusen

Substitutes

Match Stats

Live Text

Comments

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Comment posted by KingCarlos, at 02:36 3 MayKingCarlos

Reply posted by aspiadas, at 05:00 3 Mayaspiadas

Comment posted by Wee Brian, at 22:27 2 MayWee Brian

Reply posted by Footy_fan, at 04:15 3 MayFooty_fan

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Reply posted by Along came Wolly, at 22:24 2 MayAlong came Wolly

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Comment posted by User0921224906, at 22:29 2 MayUser0921224906

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Reply posted by chris, at 00:35 3 Maychris

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Comment posted by Chief Wiggum, at 22:56 2 MayChief Wiggum

Scores, Results & Fixtures

Thursday 2nd May 2024

As It Stood

A

B

C

D

E

F

Comment posted by KingCarlos, at 02:36 3 May

Reply posted by aspiadas, at 05:00 3 May

Comment posted by Wee Brian, at 22:27 2 May

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Comment posted by Ron, at 22:22 2 May

Reply posted by Along came Wolly, at 22:24 2 May

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Comment posted by Some bloke on the internet, at 00:00 3 May

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Reply posted by LeaveMeAlone, at 02:17 3 May

Comment posted by LeighRichards, at 01:21 3 May

Reply posted by Dave, at 03:39 3 May

Comment posted by hamsuns, at 07:23 3 May

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