Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich put Bayer Leverkusen in charge of Europa League semi-final as Xabi Alonso’s side stretch unbeaten run to 47 games

Xabi Alonso's men would normally have arrived as outright favourites to win the clash, however, with the atmosphere of Roma fans at Stadio Olimpico and their new-found vigour under Daniele De Rossi, it seemed that the game was evenly matched. This proved to be the case until the 28th minute when Rick Karsdorp's mistake allowed Florian Wirtz to open the scoring for Die Werkself.

After taking the lead, the Bundesliga champions cruised and barely allowed the Giallorossi chances to equalize. However, it wasn't until Robert Andrich's long-range shot stunned Mile Svilar that Alonso's side managed to double their lead on the night and give them a major boost in their hunt for a treble this season.

Alejandro Grimaldo was impeccable once again for Alonso in all aspects of the match as he managed to keep Paulo Dybala quiet throughout the game and also kept Romelu Lukaku's wide runs under control as the Belgian tried to disrupt Die Werkself's defence. He also latched onto Karsdorp's loose ball and found Wirtz's late run with a well-thought cutback to claim an assist for the opener.

Karsdorp's mistake could looked upon as the major point in the semi-final tie with the match having been evenly poised up to that point. After Chris Smalling lost an aerial duel with Grimaldo the ball bounced to the Dutchman. Under pressure, the right-back mishit a pass to Svilar straight into the Spanish full-back's path. He passed it to Florian Wirtz, who managed to be in the right place at the right time to put Bayer 1-0 up.

In the other Europa League semi-final between Marseille and Atalanta, the match ended 1-1 at the Orange Velodrome with Gianluca Scamacca's opener having been cancelled out by Chancel Mbemba's 20th-minute goal.

Up next for Bayer, the Bundesliga champions will take on Frankfurt on May 5, before they prepare for the second leg against the Romans on Thursday, May 9.