Xabi Alonso, Bayer Leverkusen manager, said, his side “will need to put all of our focus and make the final in Dublin” as he prepares for a clash with AS Roma in Germany.
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| Bayer Leverkusen manager, Xabi Alonso, and defender, Edmond Tapsoba, at the press conference ahead of the Uefa Europa League 2023/24 semi final second leg against AS Roma at BayArena on Thursday 9 May, 2024. Photos: @bayer04_en |
Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma will fight for a spot in the final of the Uefa Europa League 2023/24 when they clash in the second leg of their semi final tie at BayArena on Thursday 9 May, 2024.
In the first leg of the tie at Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy, the Black and Reds emerged victorious with a 2-0 win over their Italian hosts.
In his pre-Roma press release, Alonso said: “A second leg is always a dangerous situation no matter the result before. We are preparing to play well with good motivation and at our own game. We want to be aggressive, control and defend well as a team. We are expecting Roma to come with the hope of qualifying.
“We haven’t forget last season, we felt it. We need to use this energy and hopeful we can celebrate at the end. We will put all of our focus on the full 90 minutes. We want to deserve our win and make the final in Dublin.”
Also, Burkinabẹ́ defender, Edmond Tapsoba, at the pre-Roma press conference, said: “Last season, we saw how the fans suffered after the second leg. We want to give them this as a reward.
We will take the second leg as a normal game. We will act like the game starts from the beginning again and then fight for a win.
“We will play with our game plan as always. Every game is a difficult game, so we approach every game the same way. That is also one of the reasons why we have been so successful this season.”
The Uefa Europa League 2023/24 final will take place at the Dublin Arena, Republic of Ireland on Wednesday 22 May, 2024.
