Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Xabi Alonso, Bayer Leverkusen, Europa League, Granit Xhaka, Football, AS Roma
Ryan Smart
Topics: Xabi Alonso, Bayer Leverkusen, Europa League, Granit Xhaka, Football, AS Roma
Granit Xhaka equalled a UEFA record as Bayer Leverkusen reached the Europa League final following a 2-2 draw against Roma on Thursday night.
The result means that Leverkusen have broken the team record for most consecutive games unbeaten since European competitions began, with 49.
Xabi Alonso's side were 2-0 down against Roma with 10 minutes to play, but - much like their previous two games - scored two goals late on to level the scores.
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And you might have been forgiven for thinking you'd accidentally put one of those two games on when on-loan Bayern Munich defender Josip Stanisic scored a third consecutive 97th-minute equaliser for the new Bundesliga champions.
But Roma going two goals up doesn't tell the full story of the contest, with Leverkusen having 32 shots - compared to Roma's 12 - across the second leg.
And that attacking mentality allowed former Arsenal midfielder Xhaka to match a UEFA record in the process.
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As per OptaJoe, the Switzerland international created a staggering 10 chances from open play - equalling the record for the most in a Europa League match.
The other player to create 10 chances was ex-Manchester United star Juan Mata, who did so for Valencia against Club Brugge back in 2010.
Leverkusen, meanwhile, have four games left this season to complete a historic full unbeaten season in all competitions.
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They face a trip to Bochum before hosting Augsburg in the Bundesliga, before then facing Atalanta in the Europa League final.
Alonso and his side then conclude their season on May 25, when they take on 1998 Bundesliga champions Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final.
Speaking after Thursday night's victory on aggregate, Alonso told TNT Sports: "It [the unbeaten run] will finish some time - just hopefully it's still not in the coming games.
"We had so many chances before that we could have scored before [the equaliser], but we kept pushing and created chances, not in a crazy way, but with good football I think.
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"For sure, we are really looking forward to playing two finals in our last week. It's going to be a big challenge, but we are thrilled to be having this chance."