The trio of Czech players Patrik Schick, Adam Hložek and Matěj Kovář are within reach of advancing to the finals of the Europa League in the Leverkusen jersey. In today’s semi-final rematch, the German team will defend the 2:0 lead from the opening match in Rome against AS. The winner of the double match will face the better of the Bergamo – Marseille match in the final.
Bayer can avenge the defeat of AS in the semifinals of last year’s Europa League. Schick was absent from his team a year ago due to injury and did not play against his former club even a week ago when, like Hložek, he remained on the bench.
A year ago, Leverkusen did not score against AS and were eliminated after a 0-1 away loss and a 0-0 home draw. “We all remember how the fans suffered last year. Now we want to give them promotion as a reward,” Edmond Tapsoba said at the pre-match press conference.
It is expected that goalkeeper Kovář, who has missed only one game in the Europa League so far, will jump between the three posts of Leverkusen. He picked up five clean sheets in ten duels and, together with Rome’s Mile Silvaro, dominates the statistics of the competition.
Leverkusen is still undefeated this season, having not lost a total of 48 competitive matches in a row. The German champions have already equaled Benfica Lisbon’s 59-year-old European record and can beat it today.
“We do not plan to retreat from our game plan. We know how difficult each match is, so we try to approach each one with the same importance. That is also why we are so successful in the current season,” revealed Tapsoba. “We want to play aggressively, control the game and defend responsibly. But we know that nothing easy awaits us, because AS has nothing to lose.” added the coach of the German national team, Xabi Alonso.
The former great midfielder realizes that Leverkusen must not be satisfied with a 2-0 lead. “Rematches in European cups are always treacherous,” stated “We’re going to play like it’s a classic game. We don’t want to rely on being ahead. We want to win,” added coach tapsob stopper.
