The stage for the 2024 UEFA Europa League (UEL) final is set between Gian Piero Gasperini‘s Atalanta BC and the talk of the town in Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
Each side has come into the UEL final with different fortunes. Bayer Leverkusen’s being much more popular than an under the radar Atalanta BC.
Road to final
Atalanta made the quarter-finals of the UEFA champions league back in 2019/2020. However, getting knocked out by two stoppage time goals from Paris Saint-Germain.
This campaign, they’ve however made it to the concluding stage of one of UEFA’s continental cup competitions.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s blue-blacks began their tournament exploits by staying unbeaten across the group phase and amassing 14 points.
Progressing to the knockouts, they took on Ruben Amorim’s Sporting CP which they had earlier faced in the group stage on the conclusion of the playoff rounds. Getting past the side with a narrow 3-2 victory to set up a tie with 6-time UEFA champions league winners Liverpool FC.
Atalanta properly announced themselves in the tourney when they handed Liverpool a daggering 3-nil victory in front of their own fans at the famous Anfield stadium.
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A pragmatic second leg approach canceled out any hope of a comeback from the reds.
The semi-final affair with Olympique de Marseille saw the first leg end in a 1-1 draw. The return leg at home ended in a 3-nil victory for the hosts and earned them a place in the UEL final.
Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen started off in group G and amassed all available points scoring 19 goals and conceding just 3 in the process.
The knockout tie began with the threatening end to their unbeaten run by Qarabag over both legs.
The Azerbaijani based side went up 2-0 in both legs and either tie required a late comeback from the Germans to secure a place in the next round.
The challenge presented by UECL champions West Ham in the quarter-finals was not threatening enough to soil their unbeaten record as they cruised to a 3-1 victory over aggregate.
As Roma under the tutelage of the veteran Daniele De Rossi succumbed to a 2-nil loss in the first leg. Having gone up 2-0 in the return leg via successive penalties from Leandro Paredes, the club still couldn’t maximize the motivation of a comeback and eventually crumbled conceding two late goals.
Preview
Leverkusen will look to wrap up an unbelievable season under Alonso with an unfathomable treble. Having wrapped up the Bundesliga and still in the final of their domestic cup, the UEL is exactly where the next question should be asked.
The arrivals of Granit Xhaka, Alejandro Grimaldo, last season’s tourney top scorer Victor Boniface amongst others has more than put their season on the upsurge of form.
German golden boy Florian Wirtz takes center stage for the club and his fitness come the final will be of utmost importance. As the medical team have carefully managed his minutes following the effects of his earlier ACL injury.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side have only the return leg loss to Liverpool as the only blemish on their campaign thus far. Atalanta have gone past a reinvigorated Sporting CP, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang inspired Olympique de Marseille and will certainly be no pushovers come the final.
The game will serve as Leverkusen’s last for the season and potentially a very important one if their unbeaten streak is still on.
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