Bayer Leverkusen v Roma Live Commentary & Result, 5/18/23, UEFA Europa League

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Before Roma start preparing for the Europa League final, their focus switches to closing the gap on Serie A's top four. The Giallorossi host Salernitana at Stadio Olimpico on Monday. The previous day, Leverkusen look to respond when they welcome Borussia Monchengladbach in Bundesliga.

Roma are through to their second European final in as many seasons after holding out for a 1-0 aggregate victory over Bayer Leverkusen. The hosts controlled large periods of the second leg at BayArena, but just could not find a way past their stubborn opponents, who will play either Juventus or Sevilla in the final in Budapest on May 31.

J. Frimpong

Yellow Card

90' + 10' Yellow Card Jeremie Agyekum Frimpong

90' + 10' FULL-TIME: BAYER LEVERKUSEN 0-0 ROMA (AGG 0-1)

T. Abraham

Yellow Card

90' + 9' Abraham takes out Amiri to stop him in his tracks, albeit at the price of a yellow card.

E. Tapsoba

Yellow Card

90' + 7' Tapsoba is frustrated after Matic appears to milk another Leverkusen challenge. The defender has his name taken as a result.

90' + 6' Try as they may, Leverkusen just cannot find a way through this stubborn Roma defence. Wijnaldum eventually relieves some of the pressure by clearing the ball downfield.

90' + 4' We are halfway through stoppage time. Roma still lead by a goal to nil on aggregate, and they continue to stand firm.

90' + 3' Roma ride Leverkusen's late storm and Zalewski brings the ball away from danger before drawing a foul from Diaby. The substitute milks the challenge to run the clock down for his side.

90' + 1' We are going to have EIGHT minutes of stoppage time at the end of this game. Renewed hope for the hosts. Can they do it?

M. Diaby

Yellow Card

90' Diaby vents his frustration towards the referee after he is penalised for barging into Cristante. The Leverkusen forward goes into the book.

B. Cristante

Yellow Card

89' Cristante holds onto the ball and prevents Leverkusen taking a free-kick. The Roma defender is subsequently booked for time-wasting.

88' There are just two minutes remaining at BayArena. Can Roma hold on, or is there to be one dramatic twist?

N. Amiri

J. Tah

86' Another attacking change by the hosts with Amiri thrown on in place of Tah.

84' The hosts turn up the pressure and the ball is laid off for Frimpong to hit. But the well-placed Ibanez takes the sting out of his strike, and Patricio gathers.

83' Alonso played in several finals during his fine career. They included two Champions League finals with Liverpool and two European Championship finals with Spain. However, Leverkusen must overturn this deficit if he is to advance to his first showpiece as a manager.

81' CHANCE! The equaliser continues to elude Leverkusen. Adli's low drive is blocked but ricochets kindly for Azmoun, though the striker can only drag his shot agonisingly wide of the post.

A. Hložek

E. Palacios

80' The corner comes to nothing, but Alonso boosts his attack by introducing Hlozek in place of Palacios.

78' Pushing forward to join the attack, Tah lines one up from range and his ambitious attempt deflects behind for a corner. Can the hosts capitalise?

C. Smalling

Z. Çelik

78' Mourinho looks to shore up his defence with Smalling on to replace Celik.

75' Leverkusen continue to push for the goal that would level the tie. Diaby clips the ball into the box, but it is just beyond Azmoun's reach and trickles behind for a goal kick.

A. Adli

M. Bakker

73' An attacking change from the hosts with Adli on to replace Bakker.

72' Seventh in Bundesliga and 10 points off the top four, this competition represents Leverkusen's last remaining opportunity to qualify for next season's Champions League. However, they must find an equaliser here to stand any chance of continuing that quest.

Ibañez

Yellow Card

70' A brief melee between both sets of players culminates in Ibanez receiving a yellow card for his part.

M. Bakker

Yellow Card

70' Frustrated after being penalised for fouling Matic, Bakker boots the ball away and goes into the book.

67' GOOD DEFENDING! Patricio can only parry Demirbay's fizzing 30-yard drive. Azmoun looks to pounce on the loose ball, but Mancini reacts quickly to clear and deny the striker a clear sight on goal.

66' After clever skill from Tapsoba, the Leverkusen defender whips the ball into the box. It is met by Azmoun, but his header is straight at Patricio.

64' With a drop of his shoulder, Frimpong cleverly skips away from Bove down the right wing. He darts into the area and looks to flash the ball across the six-yard box, but Ibanez is well-placed to deflect it behind for a corner.

62' Of course, Mourinho is aiming to win this competition for a third time with as many teams. He guided Porto to glory in 2003, before repeating the feat with Manchester United 14 years later.

60' The free-kick is swung towards the far post, but Abraham flicks the ball against a Leverkusen player and it ricochets behind for a goal kick.

59' Frimpong is back on his feet and Leverkusen are awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position after Bove fouls Wirtz.

58' There is a break in play as Frimpong stays down after he is accidentally caught on the ankle by Matic.

E. Palacios

Yellow Card

56' Palacios has his name taken for a rash challenge on Matic.

54' Leverkusen enjoying the slightly greater amount of possession in these early stages of the second half. But they remain unable to find a way through the blanket of white shirts.

52' It is 21 years since the likes of Michael Ballack, Oliver Neuville and Lucio helped Leverkusen reach the Champions League final with aggregate victories over Liverpool and Manchester United. Who from their current crop will stand up and be counted here?

50' Leverkusen have lost each of their last seven European matches against Italian opposition. Only a victory will do here today, though.

48' We have a break in play as smoke emitted from supporters' flares spreads across the pitch, affecting the vision of the players. The referee briefly halts proceedings, but we should resume shortly.

46' Leverkusen kick things off in the second half.

G. Wijnaldum

A. Belotti

46' Roma make a change at the break with Wijnaldum replacing Belotti.

Roma have won just two of their last 15 European ties away in Germany. Although, a draw today would be enough to see them through to the final.

It remains advantage Roma at the midway point in this Europa League semi-final second leg. Leverkusen enjoyed most of the possession during the first half and carried the greater threat. Demirbay and Azmoun drew saves out of Patricio while Diaby hit the crossbar, but they were unable to find the breakthrough.

45' + 4' HALF-TIME: BAYER LEVERKUSEN 0-0 ROMA (AGG 0-1)

P. Hincapié

Yellow Card

45' + 3' Hincapie catches Belotti late and goes into the book.

45' + 2' We are into the second of three additional minutes at the end of this first half.

45' Following a brief scramble inside the Roma penalty area, the ball eventually breaks for Demirbay. But under pressure from the visiting defence, he can only bend his shot high and wide of the target.

44' Roma push as we enter the final minute of the first half. Belotti gives chase to a long ball, but is penalised for a foul on Hincapie.

42' There is a delay as Ibanez is thoroughly assessed by the medical team. But the Roma defender eventually gets back to his feet and jogs over to the touchline.

40' A concern for Roma as Ibanez stays down clutching the back of his head. Following a good spell of Leverkusen pressure that culminated in Wirtz's cross, the defender was involved in an aerial collision with Azmoun. Although, he should be fine to continue here.

38' Palacios goes to ground following a late challenge by Pellegrini. The Leverkusen players want the referee to take action against the Roma skipper, who just gets a stern talking to.

36' CHANCE! Leverkusen neatly work the ball for Azmoun to strike from the edge of the box. There is plenty of ferocity in his attempt, but it is straight at Patricio.

N. Zalewski

L. Spinazzola

34' Spinazzola is unable to continue after an earlier knock. He is replaced by Zalewski.

31' The home fans are in fine voice as their team seeks the goal that would level this tie. It may not have arrived yet, but the hosts must continue to be patient and keep pushing.

29' Roma need to be careful. Diaby is enabled far too much space to swing in another cross from the right towards Azmoun. Patricio riskily comes a long way out of goal, but does enough to put the Leverkusen forward off.

27' Demirbay calls Patricio into action again with another low drive from outside the box. The Roma goalkeeper does well to get down and hold.

25' Palacios tries his luck from distance, but the effort is a hugely ambitious one and always rising.

23' The hosts continue to ask questions as Wirtz swings in a deep cross from the right. Diaby rises well to meet it, but cannot direct his header towards the target.

21' GOOD TRY! Found in space, Demirbay has time to set himself and unleash a vicious 20-yard effort that Patricio is forced to push away to safety.

18' The Giallorossi have progressed from 23 of their previous 25 two-legged European ties when winning the first leg. Can they maintain that impressive strike rate here?

16' Roma's gameplan is fairly evident with the visitors happy to take their time recovering after picking up knocks and let the seconds tick away. Mourinho's side already have one eye on the clock.

14' Leverkusen have only previously progressed from one of their past 11 two-legged European ties when losing the first leg. Although, that sole win did come against Monaco in the playoff stage of this season's Europa League.

12' OFF THE BAR! Beating the offside trap, Diaby latches onto Wirtz's throughball and races away from Ibanez. Although the angle is tight, the winger lets fly with a fierce effort that rattles the woodwork.

10' Leverkusen continue to threaten after the ball runs to Diaby after Wirtz's strong run to the edge of the box. However, the eventual shot is well wide and never troubling the goal.

8' After surging down the right flank, Frimpong sets the ball back for Demirbay, whose effort from a tight angle is straight at Patricio.

6' Today, Leverkusen are aiming to become only the fourth team in the past decade to progress after losing the opening leg of a Europa League semi-final tie.

4' No player has been directly involved in more goals than Pellegrini in the Europa League this season (eight - four goals, four assists).

2' Pellegrini has the first sight of goal. Abraham neatly cushions a long ball into the path of his skipper, who drills a low 25-yard effort wide of the target.

1' Referee Slavko Vincic blows his whistle and Roma get us underway!

The players are coming out onto the pitch and we are almost ready to go here.

Kick-off is just 10 minutes away at BayArena. Will Roma hold on to reach their second European final in as many seasons? Or can Leverkusen turn things around and advance to their first European showpiece in 21 years?

'If it's not broken, don't fix it' appears to be Jose Mourinho's thinking as he names an unchanged Roma side from the first leg. The Giallorossi boss notably sticks with Cristante in the heart of defence despite Smalling's return to fitness. The former Manchester United defender is forced to settle for a place on the bench alongside Dybala.

Xabi Alonso makes just a single change from Leverkusen's 1-1 draw with Stuttgart at the weekend. The sole alteration sees Wirtz, rested for that game, replace Adli on the wing. Robert Andrich and Odilon Kossounou miss out having sustained season-ending injuries during the first leg.

SUBS: Mile Svilar, Pietro Boer, Filippo Missori, Chris Smalling, Rick Karsdorp, Nicola Zalewski, Georginio Wijnaldum, Mady Camara, Benjamin Tahirovic, Cristian Volpato, Stephan El Shaarawy, Paulo Dybala.

ROMA (3-5-2): Rui Patricio; Gianluca Mancini, Bryan Cristante, Ibanez; Mehmet Zeki Celik, Edoardo Bove, Nemanja Matic, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Leonardo Spinazzola; Andrea Belotti, Tammy Abraham.

SUBS: Patrick Pentz, Niklas Lomb, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Ayman Aourir, Nadiem Amiri, Ayman Azhil, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Amine Adli, Adam Hlozek.

BAYER LEVERKUSEN (3-4-3): Lukas Hradecky; Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah, Piero Hincapie; Jeremie Frimpong, Kerem Demirbay, Exequiel Palacios, Mitchel Bakker; Moussa Diaby, Sardar Azmoun, Florian Wirtz.

Roma hold a slender 1-0 aggregate lead following last week's first leg. Edoardo Bove's second-half strike settled the contest in the Giallorossi's favour at Stadio Olimpico.

Hello everyone and welcome to live text coverage of the Europa League semi-final second leg between Bayer Leverkusen and Roma at BayArena.

Bayer Leverkusen v Roma Live Commentary, 5/18/23

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