De Rossi plotting high-flying Leverkusen’s fall

Rome, May 1

The Bundesliga title. The record 46-match unbeaten run. The 3-0 shutout of Bayern Munich.

Forget about all of that for now. Bayer Leverkusen has been thinking about its next opponent for an entire year.

The German club will be seeking revenge when it visits Roma in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals on Thursday — a rematch from last season at the same stage when Jose Mourinho’s Giallorossi advanced to the final.

“We were so close to go to the final last season and we didn’t like the way we went out,” Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah said. “So I was actually hoping to play against them again.”

Leverkusen’s streak of 46 games without a loss is a record across Europe’s “big five” leagues. But that hasn’t stopped Daniele De Rossi from believing Leverkusen can be beaten again. “We need to stretch them and move them out of position when they don’t have the ball,” De Rossi said. “They’re unbeaten but there’s no such thing as unbeatable.” — AP