BRUSSELS: Bayer Leverkusen eased into the Europa League semi-finals after crushing hosts Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium 4-1 on Thursday for a 5-2 aggregate win that stretched their unbeaten run to 12 straight matches across all competitions. The result means Leverkusen, the last German team left in any European competition this season, have reached their first European semi-final in 21 years while ending Union’s fairytale maiden run in the Europa League. “The mentality of the team was the key tonight,” said Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, who has turned around their season since taking over in October. “Obviously the early first goal by Moussa Diaby was very helpful. But overall we did it very well. “Now the team is ready to fight in a semi-final. We are a step closer to reaching the final but I’ll only talk about the semi-final,” said the Spaniard.