(Image credit: Getty Images)
The clock was ticking down at the BayArena, and the game seemed to be slipping out of Bayer Leverkusen’s grasp. The German side had fallen 2-0 down against Qarabag of Azerbaijan, and their Europa League dream looked to be coming to an end.
They’d been 2-0 down in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie too – set for their first defeat of the season, in any competition – only for Florian Wirtz and Patrik Schick to rescue a 2-2 draw in Baku. The latter scored in the 92nd minute, to the disappointment of the 30,000 crowd.
This time in Germany, Jeremie Frimpong pulled a goal back against a Qarabag side who’d taken a 2-0 lead, despite being down to 10 men. As the game moved into injury time though, Leverkusen were still 2-1 down, still going out, and about to lose their unbeaten record during the current campaign, after 36 incredible matches.
Then Alex Grimaldo crossed from the left, Schick slid in to turn the ball home from close range, and the stadium erupted. The Czech had saved them again. Four minutes later, with the final whistle still to blow, Exequiel Palacios crossed, and Schick headed home the winner.
It was an extraordinary end that only increased the sense of inevitability that, this season, the final of the Europa League may well be Liverpool versus Bayer Leverkusen.
On paper, they’ve always looked like the best two teams in the competition, given that both could end up as domestic champions this season – it’s not very often that Europe’s secondary competition has had two such in-form sides.
Patrik Schick spared Leverkusen last night (Image credit: Getty Images)
When Jurgen Klopp announced in January that he’d be quitting Anfield at the end of the season, the narrative only grew stronger. Immediately Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso was installed as favourite to replace him, given his brilliant work in the Bundesliga, and his previous history as a Liverpool player.
When the draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals took place, the morning after Leverkusen’s Qarabag triumph it was then confirmed that the two clubs are now on separate halves of the draw. They can only meet in the final, in Dublin, on May 22.
What an occasion that would be, if both clubs get there. Alonso taking charge of his first ever European final, against the club he could potentially be about to join.
For him, it could be his last game as Leverkusen boss, if they don’t make the DFB-Pokal final, scheduled for three days later. Likewise, it could be Jurgen Klopp’s last game as Liverpool boss, if they Reds don’t make the FA Cup final.
Both clubs still have plenty of work to do to get to Dublin. Liverpool face Atalanta in the quarter-finals, then would face Benfica or Marseille in the semis. West Ham stand in Leverkusen’s way in the last eight, before a potential semi with Milan or Roma.
Liverpool vs Leverkusen would be an intriguing final on May 22, though – possibly one of the most intriguing in the competition’s history.
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Chris joined FourFourTwo in 2015 and has reported from more than 20 countries, in places as varied as Ivory Coast and the Arctic Circle. He’s interviewed Pele, Zlatan and Santa Claus (it’s a long story), as well as covering the World Cup, AFCON and the Clasico. He previously spent 10 years as a newspaper journalist, and completed the 92 in 2017.
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