Leverkusen players celebrate victory. (Photo: Reuters).
The Spanish coach was willing to leave star Wirtz on the bench. However, the game was still completely in Leverkusen's hands. Goalkeeper Svilar had to work extremely hard and the goalpost also saved Roma once.
However, it was the Italians who took the lead in the second leg. Leverkusen's Tah committed a foul in the box and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Paredes did not miss the chance to open the scoring from the 11m mark in the 43rd minute.
In the second half, Roma stepped up their attack, putting pressure on the home team's goalkeeper Kovar. The pressure from the visitors paid off in the 64th minute when a Leverkusen defender fumbled the ball in the penalty area. After consulting VAR, the referee awarded Roma a penalty and Paredes completed his double to bring the aggregate score to 2-2.
At this point, when the score was level after two matches, Leverkusen woke up and attacked fiercely. However, when they could not score, Roma "gave" the home team a goal to shorten the score. Smalling and Svilar did not understand each other in the aerial dispute and Macini became the unwilling sinner when the ball hit this player and flew into the net.
Having regained the advantage, Leverkusen took the initiative to hold the ball and wait for the opportunity. In a phase where the visitors were impatient, Stanisic handled the ball with class in the penalty area to seal the 2-2 result for the second leg and help Leverkusen win 4-2 on aggregate after 2 matches. Coach Xabi Alonso and his team not only entered the final of the European Cup C2 but also continued their unbeaten streak with 49 matches.
Leverkusen's opponents in the European Cup Winners' Cup final are another Italian team - Atalanta, who beat Marseille 3-0 in the second leg to win 4-1 on aggregate.
In the European Cup C3 (Conference League), Aston Villa continued to lose to Olympiacos 0-2 and lost 2-6 on aggregate in the semi-finals. The Greek representative will create a final match for the Championship Cup with Fiorentina (Italy).
Tran Tien/VOV.VN
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