Bayer Leverkusen have made history. The Bundesliga Champions have set a new European record of 49 games unbeaten after Josip Stanisic netted yet another last-gasp equaliser to seal a 2-2 draw with Roma.
Stanisic, 24, scored with the last kick of the game in the 97th minute to secure a 4-2 aggregate win over the Italians, in turn booking their place in the Europa League final.
Xabi Alonso’s side just don’t know when they are beaten, they were 2-0 down heading into the final 10 minutes, but after an own goal from Gianluca Mancini and then Stanisic’s strike, they have now surpassed Benfica’s 59-year record.
The last time Leverkusen tasted defeat was on the final day of the 2022-23 season, losing 3-0 to VfL Bochum.
They are now on the cusp of an unprecedented treble, having already won a first-ever Bundesliga title, and with the DFB Pokal final, and now a date with Atalanta in Dublin, still to come.
‘You see the desire from the team,’ said Granit Xhaka, who assisted the late equaliser, to TNT Sports.
He added: ‘Even after 2-1, 90 minutes and then extra-time, we didn’t want to slow down the game, we wanted to score the second goal to be unbeaten. We are proud about it.’
Alonso was proud of the character and calmness his side showed in scoring the late equalsier, but is aware that one day, the late goal won’t come.
‘It will finish some time,’ he admitted to TNT Sports. ‘Hopefully it’s not in the coming games, but that’s football.
‘We had so many chances that we could have scored before, but we kept pushing, kept creating chances.’
Alonso’s side have a knack of making it hard for themselves, and they did so again, letting their two-goal advantage over Roma from the first leg slip.
The Italian side took a surprise lead from the penalty spot two minutes before half-time after Sardar Azmoun was hauled down by Jonathan Tah. Leandro Paredes stepped up and made no mistake.
Paredes then punished Leverkusen once again, netting another penalty in the 66th minute after Adam Hlozek was adjudged to have handled the ball following a Roma corner.
However, Leverkusen never give up, and they retook the lead in the tie when Gianluca Mancini headed unconventially into his own net eight minutes from time.
Then came the moment of truth. As time was seemingly out, Stanisic cut in from the right-hand side and slid a low strike past Mile Svilar to net Leverkusen’s 17th stoppage-time goal of the season.
The Croatia international’s strike is the biggest of all 17 as it created history, and the Celebrations that followed it showed just that.
Staff and players on the bench raced over to Stanisic, and at full-time a gleaming Alonso sped onto the pitch to celebrate with all of his team.
Prior to tonight, Leverkusen sat level with Benfica for the longest unbeaten run across all competitions, since the introduction of UEFA club competitions, in European football history.
The Portuguese side, led by footballing icon Eusebio, set their record back in 1965, avoiding defeat 48 times during a 15-month period.
Now that Leverkusen have beaten it, they can also become the first team ever to reach 50 matches unbeaten if they beat Bochum in the Bundesliga on Sunday 12 May.
