Atalanta BC beat Olympique de Marseille 3-0 this Thursday and will play for the Europa League title against Bayer Leverkusen, whose draw ‘in extremis’ (2-2) against AS Roma has meant its access to the final and also a European record, while Spanish coach José Luis Mendilibar has reached the final of the Conference League with Olympiacos after beating Aston Villa 2-0.
In Bergamo, the locals took the lead after half an hour with a goal from Ademola Lookman, who in the second half assisted Matteo Ruggeri so that he scored 2-0 with a great goal in the rival area. Bilal Touré, on the counterattack in injury time, made it 3-0 with his right foot.
Atalanta’s opponent in the final will be Bayer Leverkusen, who performed the umpteenth miracle in the final stages of their duel against Roma. Xabi Alonso’s men raised their unbeaten streak of games to 49, a new historical record in European football and having beaten the 48 that SL Benfica achieved in Eusébio’s time.
Although the Romans went 0-2 with two penalties converted by Leandro Paredes, one before half-time and another shortly after returning from the locker room, the ‘Laterkusen’ legend added two more goals starting in the 80th minute. This time , the 1-2 was an own goal by Gianluca Mancini, on a rebound after a corner.
The final equalizer for the German team was the work of Josip Stanisic, following a drive from the right wing that culminated with a low left foot shot to the long post from inside the area. Thus, Xabi Alonso’s men will seek the trophy on May 22 at the Dublin Arena (Ireland).
On the other hand, in the meeting between Spanish coaches, José Luis Mendilibar once again smiled more than Unai Emery. A double from Ayoub El Kaabi, who had already scored three goals in the first leg for a 2-4 victory in Birmingham, sealed Olympiacos’ ticket to the Conference title match, where they will face Fiorentina.
2024-05-09 21:27:02
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