MILAN: Bayer Leverkusen are gunning for revenge on Thursday when they travel to a second Europa League semi-final against AS Roma in as many years after yet another late escape kept their remarkable unbeaten run intact.

Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen staff were filmed celebrating Roma’s passage past AC Milan in the last eight, and Thursday’s first leg at the Stadio Olimpico is a chance to purge the memory of being ‘Mourinhoed’ in last season’s last four.

Already a formidable proposition last term, Leverkusen’s astonishing run of 46 matches without defeat and a first-ever Bundesliga title has them favourites to reach the final in Dublin.

And the team which broke Bayern Munich’s dominance of German football wants payback for the 1-0 aggregate loss which led to Roma’s agonising penalty shoot-out defeat to Sevilla in last season’s final.

“We have a desire for revenge, and a great hunger to win and get ourselves into the final,” said Leverkusen CEO Fernando Corro to Radio Marca. “We want to get to the final at all costs.”

Leverkusen have scored 16 goals in stoppage time this season in all competitions, the latest coming in the 96th minute of Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Stuttgart.

And it’s been their habit for late strikes which has got them back to the Europa League semis, with former Roma man Patrik Schick scoring three times in added time over their 5-4 last-16 win against Qarabag and two more late goals helping them past West Ham United in the quarter-finals.

Coach Alonso said his team’s ability to claw back results at the death was “hard to explain” after Robert Andrich snatched a point at Stuttgart but is hoping it holds out for the rest of the campaign.

“Our main objective was to become champions, but now we don’t want to stop,” added Alonso to Sky. “The goal is clear. We want to stay undefeated until the end of the season.”

Roma salvaged a late point of their own at Napoli on Sunday thanks to a late goal from Tammy Abraham, the England international striker’s first in a year after a long knee injury lay-off.“I’ve got players who are trying to get something from this season,” said Roma coach Daniele De Rossi to DAZN after the Napoli draw.

“We know it’s going to be difficult.. we have to find the results we need to get into the Champions League or win the Europa League.”

De Rossi will be boosted by the return of Romelu Lukaku alongside Paulo Dybala after the Belgium striker shook off a thigh problem.

Also back are Chris Smalling who missed Napoli with a groin injury and midfield lynchpin Leandro Paredes, suspended for the hard-fought draw at the weekend.

“We have to be perfect, because if they don’t ever lose and have the heart to score in the final seconds so often it means that they have something special,” said De Rossi. “They’re unbeaten, but they’re not unbeatable.”

Meanwhile in the other last-four showdown, Olympique de Marseille will take on Atalanta on Thursday.

Marseille, who lost the Europa League final in 2018, would not be favourites in the final and are also probably the underdogs against Atalanta, conquerors of Liverpool in the last round.

But their star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could be the man to make the difference as the Gabon international has scored 27 goals in 46 games in all competitions since joining from Chelsea.

“He has scored lots of goals and done so everywhere he has been. He is the best goal-scorer in the Europa League,” Marseille president Pablo Longoria told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “We hope he will make his mark against Atalanta and stay with us until the end of his career.”

In the Europa Conference League semi-final first leg clashes on Thursday, Premier League side Aston Villa will face Greek outfit Olympiakos while Italian team Fiorentina will vie for the spot in final against Belgium’s Club Brugge.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2024