Bayer Leverkusen set a European record for the longest unbeaten run, until the Europa League final

Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw against Roma in the Europa League on Thursday evening meant the German side had gone 49 games unbeaten and broke the record for the longest unbeaten run against a European club since the start of European club competitions in 1955.

Leverkusen was leading its confrontation against Roma with two goals after the opening match, but it seemed on its way to losing its first match this season after two penalty kicks from Leandro Paredes put the Italian club in the lead.

But Gianluca Mancini’s own goal in the 82nd minute and Josip Stanisic’s equalizer in the 97th minute ensured Leverkusen qualified for the Europa League final after winning 4-2 on aggregate.

Meanwhile, Stanisic’s goal became Leverkusen’s 17th stoppage-time goal of the season.

Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka told TNT Sports: “This is football. It’s the beautiful part of football. For the mentality we showed again today against a big team to come back like this and qualify for the final. We are more than happy today.”

“You see the team’s desire, we didn’t want to slow down. We wanted to score the next goal so we can continue to maintain our unbeaten record, 49 times so far. We are proud of that.”

The unbeaten run, which began in all competitions with an 8-0 win over Teutonia Otensen in the German Cup on 12 August, surpassed Portuguese club Benfica’s record of 48 consecutive matches without a loss from December 1963 to February 1965.

Benfica were captained by Eusebio and won the Portuguese League and Cup during their unbeaten run.

Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen side have avoided defeat in 32 Bundesliga matches, five German Cup matches and 12 Europa League matches. They won 40 of these matches.

Unsurprisingly, this has left them on the brink of a trilogy. They have already won the Bundesliga – ending Bayern Munich’s 11-season dominance – and will face second-tier Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final on May 25. And Atalanta In the Europa League final on May 22.

If Leverkusen also avoid defeat in their last two league matches, they will become the first team in Bundesliga history to go an entire season unbeaten.

Here are the five longest unbeaten runs by a European team since 1955:

(Christoph Koepsell/Getty Images)