Daily Times

Bayer Leverkusen have one foot in the Europa League final after winning 2-0 at Roma on Thursday to extend their remarkable unbeaten run to 47 matches.

Goals in each half from Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich ensured victory for Xabi Alonso’s men in the Italian capital and gave the Bundesliga champions a great chance of reaching the final in Dublin later this month.

Leverkusen will meet either Atalanta or Marseille in Ireland should they hold out in Germany next week, and on the evidence of their performance in Rome they will be firm favourites to win their first European trophy since the old UEFA Cup in 1988.

Alonso’s team have needed a string of last gasp goals to keep their unbeaten run going in recent weeks but there was no need for any frantic finishes in the Italian capital as Leverkusen’s superiority was fully on display.

“We had a lot of chances to score a third but they also had a good chance to cut the deficit right at the end. We’re happy with the result,” Alonso told reporters.

“We fought hard, played very well and were very disciplined. For us that means a lot but we still have a lot to do.” Roma face a huge task if they are to reach a third European final in as many years after barely troubling Matej Kovar’s goal after Romelu Lukaku struck the woodwork early on.