Leverkusen wants revenge on Roma in the English Premier League semi-finals

In the first leg of the Europa League semi-final, Bayer Leverkusen will face Roma away to the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday (from 9:00pm on the live stream).

In the new version of last year's semi-finals, the “Werkself” team wants revenge for its elimination last season. In a parallel confrontation between Olympique de Marseille and Atalanta Bergamo, the second participant in the final will be determined on May 22 in Dublin.

Leverkusen played 46 official matches this season and maintained an unbeaten record. Since being crowned champion, there have only been three draws, all of which were saved shortly before the end of the match.

Now, the newly crowned German champions will face the Romanian team again, which still has a score to settle. Last year, the capital team, still coached by Jose Mourinho, won the first leg 1-0, and a 0-0 draw in the second leg was enough to reach the final.

The end of last year is the “drive” of Leverkusen

On the way to the targeted treble, Xabi Alonso's side now want to turn the tables. “We have a chance to win the treble. This means everything to all the players and everyone at the club. That's why these two games against AS are hard work, but they are absolute highlights,” sporting director Simon Rolfes explained on Wednesday.

“The energy we were able to extract from the semifinals and the huge disappointment last year is what drives us.” Alonso stressed: “We want to remain undefeated until the end of the season.”

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The opponent now presents itself differently than last year. Since Daniele De Rossi took over as Roma coach last January, the capital club has been on the rise.

The club veteran gave the “Giallorossi” a more attacking playing style – successfully. In 20 competitive matches there were only three defeats. In the league, the Romanian team is close to qualifying for the Champions League, and in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, it beat Milan with two victories.

De Rossi is confident: “There are no unbeatable teams”

He should also show new self-confidence against Bayer. De Rossi was not impressed by the fact that the Germans had not lost yet. “There are no unbeatable teams,” the 40-year-old said.

Striker Tammy Abraham would like to prove that in the first leg. “We would like to be the team that finishes their career,” the Englishman said, referring to Werkself. With Abraham, Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku, Roma certainly have the necessary attacking arsenal.

In the second semi-final, Marseille initially has a home advantage against Liverpool's winners, Atalanta. The French defeated Benfica Lisbon in the quarter-finals. This will be Marseille's second final appearance of 2018, and Atletico Madrid were too big. Atalanta have lost just one of their last six league games, and played well against favorites Liverpool in the quarter-finals.