Goals by Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich gave Bayer Leverkusen a 2-0 advantage over Roma in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday.
The newly crowned Bundesliga champions and German Cup finalists took the lead through Wirtz before the half-hour mark when the midfielder scored with a simple low finish, capitalising on Roma's defensive error.
Andrich doubled the advantage in the 73rd minute, leaving Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar with no chance when he fired an unstoppable shot from outside the box and under the bar.
The second leg will be played in Leverkusen next Thursday and the winner of the tie will face Olympique de Marseille or Atalanta in the final on 22 May at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Olympique de Marseille were held to a 1-1 home draw by Atalanta in the other semi-final first leg.
Gianluca Scamacca put the visitors ahead after 11 minutes when Teun Koopmeiners found him unmarked in the box to fire low into the far post for his 16th goal in all competitions this season.
Chancel Mbemba equalised for Marseille nine minutes later with a superb long-range strike that hit the post and into the net following a corner
Both sides missed chances to score further goals in the second half.
Marseille will travel to Bergamo for the second leg next Thursday.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
