A rematch of one of last season’s two UEFA Europa League semi-finals will headline this latest matchday of this campaign’s competition, as 2022/23 runners-up Roma again host newly-crowned German league champions Bayer Leverkusen, who unlike their Italian hosts no longer have to balance this competition alongside their league commitments. Roma are in an eerily similar situation to last season, whereby they came so close but fell short of earning Champions League qualification both via Serie A and by winning the Europa League.
On a wet night in Rome two weeks ago, they completed a 3-1 quarter-final aggregate win over AC Milan to maintain their outstanding consistency that has seen them reach the semi-finals of four consecutive UEFA competitions, the most recent of which they kept Leverkusen scoreless for 180 minutes to grind out a 1-0 victory. Roma’s near perfect W11, D1, L1 home record over the last two editions of the Europa League further leaves them well placed to establish a first leg advantage here.
But courtesy of their record-breaking season, Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen side will this time head to Rome as favourites rather than underdogs. The new Bundesliga champions recently overtook Juventus to claim the European record for the longest unbeaten streak across all competitions, extending their current run to 46 games without defeat (W38, D8) with a last gasp Bundesliga equaliser at home to Stuttgart (2-2).
Ironically, there was also a league draw with Stuttgart in May 2023 between their double failure to beat Roma in last season’s Europa League semi-finals, and three draws in their last three games across all competitions has raised concerns that their overwhelmingly successful campaign could be wearing down. As a two-time Champions League winner in his playing days, Alonso knows how to keep winning at this time of year though, and has vowed to “keep going and not stop” in his own personal quest for managerial history.
Players to watch: Gianluca Mancini became the latest Roman hero when opening the scoring in both quarter-final legs against Milan, whilst his fellow defender Jeremie Frimpong found the net beyond the 70th minute in two of his last three UEFA appearances.
Hot stat: Leverkusen have returned just one clean sheet from their last ten post-group stage away legs in any UEFA competition.
