Incredible: for the twenty-first time, out of 46 matches of the season, Bayer Leverkusen scores a goal in the 86th minute of play. Is this the thing that De Rossi’s team will have to pay most attention to in the Europa League semi-final? No, there are others, first and foremost the fact that the Germans are strong, play well and have already closed the Bundesliga chapter. But it is clear that such a sensational figure cannot be a coincidence: if for almost half of the matches played more than half saw a goal from Bayer – unbeaten – in the last five minutes there are evidently two aspects to take into consideration. Maybe three, if you consider a pinch of luck that Xabi Alonso’s team has never lacked. It can’t just be good luck, though. First there is the physical reason: Bayer is well trained and this allows them to be ready even at the end of the match. In short: the leg is there. The head as well and this is the second aspect to keep an eye on, for De Rossi and Roma: the new German champions never give up, as their coach wants starting from the work done during the week.
Bayer Leverkusen, the background on Xabi Alonso in training
It seems, as some Bayer players recently revealed, that the former Spanish star loves taking part in training so much that he is a real extra man: “And when those who train you go faster than you – the words of Boniface – then you always have to do something more”. Not only that: a video has gone viral, which emerged just a few weeks ago, in which we see Xabi Alonso going crazy at the beginning of the season for some senseless long balls in training. A fury, the Leverkusen coach, who even left the players on the pitch in anger: “You continue“. This attitude led Schick (former Roma player, one of the most active in recent times to score after the 85th minute) and his teammates to show courage and above all determination until the final whistle. Not before. Never.
Bayer Leverkusen, equal with Stuttgart: another goal in added time
Never in the true sense of the word, given that even today, as champions of the championship and with the Europa League just around the corner (2 May the first leg, 9 May the return leg), the Bayer players drew 2-2 with Stuttgart after having been down 2-0. The equalizer? Andrich’s in the 96th minute, number 21 of the final stages of the match. Leverkusen cares about their unbeaten record: in 46 matches of the season they have never lost, won 38 times and drew on 8 occasions. In 2024 he has decided matches in his favor 9 times in the final minutes: Roma knows it. They will be two very long challenges.
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