Bayer Leverkusen produces astonishing comeback to go 49 games unbeaten and reach Europa League final

Bayer Leverkusen’s remarkable season took another extraordinary turn on Thursday as a late 2-2 draw against AS Roma stretched the club’s unbeaten run to 49 games.

Bayer Leverkusen’s remarkable season took another extraordinary turn on Thursday as a late 2-2 draw against AS Roma stretched the club’s unbeaten run to 49 games. The 4-2 aggregate victory saw Leverkusen reach a first European final in 22 years, while Josip Stanišić’s 97th-minute strike ensured that the recently-crowned German champion remains undefeated this season. It means that Leverkusen has now surpassed Portuguese team Benfica’s record from 1963-65 for the longest unbeaten run across all top-level matches since the introduction of European competitions, according to UEFA. Leverkusen had come into the second-leg match at the BayArena with a two-goal lead, though that advantage was cancelled out when Leandro Paredes converted two penalties for Roma either side of halftime. The home side dominated possession throughout but struggled to capitalize on several good chances, and it wasn’t until the 82nd minute that Gianluca Mancini’s unfortunate own goal offered hope of a comeback. Then in the dying moments, with the likelihood of a draw quickly fading, Stanišić made a brilliant run into the box and slotted the ball into the net with the final act of the game, sparking bedlam inside the sellout stadium.