2024-05-11 04:53:58
This series is amazing. Especially because of the way it happens. After every match we tell ourselves that we want to continue without a loss in the next one as well. We have 4 matches left until the end of the season and the same applies to them. We don’t want to stop. Well, after the final in Berlin, we can stop and indulge in a well-deserved vacation.
With completely understandable excitement and a smile on his face, the coach of “Bayer” (Leverkusen) Xabi Alonso said these words after the semifinal rematch in the Europa League against the visiting “Roma”.
In it, his boys once again paid for their nickname The Untouchables with meaning, after they were down 0:2 until the 82nd minute, but in the 97th minute they broke 2:2 and qualified for the final with a total score of 4:2.
Thus, “Bayer” broke the record for the most consecutive games without a loss in Europe after World War II. “Aspirins” have 49, and the Portuguese “Benfica” remained in the second position with 48.
Alonso’s side also earned the right to play in a second final this season. It is historic for Bayer, who have already won their first Bundesliga title.
In the decisive clash for the Europa League trophy, the German team meets the Italian “Atalanta” in Dublin on May 22. 3 days later is the final mentioned by Alonso in Berlin. In a dispute for the German Cup, the “Aspirins” meet the second division “Kaiserslautern”.
Thus, “Bayer” can end the season with 3 trophies. Because of his great work, the Spanish coach of the Leverkusen team was named FINALonso in Germany.
As for the special way he defined the undefeated streak to survive, here are some numbers. They are definitely proof that the “aspirins” do not pass, no matter how painful the situation.
With the two goals at the end of the return match against “Roma”, “Bayer” accumulated a total of 32 goals scored after the 80th minute of the season. After the 90th minute they are 16.
The German side has scored 136 goals in all competitions so far this campaign. They are distributed as follows – 82 in the Bundesliga, 23 in the domestic cup tournament and 31 in the Europa League.
Statistics show that almost 1/4 of the season’s goals are scored after the 80th minute. Really impressive.
Otherwise, in Leverkusen, they did not fail to burn “Roma” after the success. The hit “Bella, bye” was played at the stadium (“Beauty, goodbye” – b.a.). Thus, the “aspirins” took revenge for the brutal time delay in the semi-final rematch last year, when “Roma” was led by the specialist in this regard, Jose Mourinho.