Bayer Leverkusen is now officially the club with the longest unbeaten streak across all competitions in recorded European football history. They surpassed Benfica’s 48-game record after a rather dramatic 2-2 draw against Roma in the Europa League semi-final. Of course, Leverkusen was trailing and there were late goals involved.
Leverkusen was leading on aggregate going into the match as they had beaten Roma 2-0 in the first leg. All they needed to qualify for the final was a draw and a goalless draw would have sufficed but Roma put up a fight and made them work for it. Things progressed rather uneventfully in the match until Leverkusen gave away a penalty in the 43rd minute. Tah brought down Azmoun in the box, he was shown a yellow card, and pointed to the spot for a penalty which Roma’s Parades promptly put away. The penalty put Roma ahead and brought the aggregate score to 2-1.
Leverkusen conceded another penalty in the second half which was promptly dispatched again by Parades to bring Roma 2-0 up in the match and level on aggregate. It was the 65th minute and Leverkusen’s chances of qualification hung in the balance. Not only that but their unbeaten run was looking like it would come to an end in a fashion, we are now getting used to, Leverkusen pulled one back as Roma scored an own goal in the 82nd minute. A cross from the German side bounced off Roma defender Mancini into the net to make the score 2-1 and 2-3 on aggregate. It would have been enough for Bayer Leverkusen to progress to the finals but they would have lost their historic unbeaten run.
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At this point, whether it’s miracles, witchcraft, luck, or tactical acumen it’s hard to tell but Leverkusen leveled the score in the 90+7 minutes to preserve their unbeaten run. Xabi Alonso brought in Josep Stanicic to replace Jeremie Frimpong in the 90th minute and seven minutes later, the substitute pounced on Granit Xhaka’s through ball and scored a Leverkusen-style late goal to confirm their place in the Europa League final and set a new record for the longest unbeaten run across all competitions in Europe.
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They extended the record to 50 games unbeaten last week as they demolished Bochum 5-0 in the Bundesliga and of course, they scored a late goal. They are now only 3 wins away from an unbeaten treble of the Bundesliga, Europa League, and the DFB Pokal trophy; a feat no other team has ever achieved in football. Do you think an unbeaten treble would be the greatest managerial achievement in football?
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Whatever Leverkusen is on this season, Real Madrid is on something similar considering their Champions League run in 2022 and the nature of their triumph over Bayern in the Champions League semi-finals. If both teams win the finals we could see them play for the Super Cup and what a sight that would be. Just like Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso’s men have proven that they know how to dig in and snatch a win at the last minute. They know how to play with full force until the final whistle.
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In any case, Leverkusen is definitely playing Champions League football next season where it will be much harder to maintain any kind of unbeaten run. Also, they may come up against Real Madrid and how that will play out will definitely be worth the watch. Leverkusen are now 50 games unbeaten and counting. This Leverkusen team has already etched their name in football history but their next three games will determine whether they can do what no club has done before and achieve an unbeaten treble. Leverkusen’s journey from Neverkusen to Neverlusen is truly remarkable and we anticipate how they will perform in the Champions League next season and how far they can extend the run.
How do you think they’ll hold up in the Champions League?