Super Eagles stars Nathan Tella and Victor Boniface have qualified for the final of the UEFA Europa League after a dramatic 2-2 draw against Roma in the second leg of the semi-final at BayArena, Soccernet.ng reports.
German kings Bayer Leverkusen welcomed Roma to Bay Arena for the second leg of their clutch semi-final encounter. Die Werkself had an advantage from the first leg, as they claimed a 2-0 win from Rome.
For the second leg, coach Xabi Alonso dropped Boniface to the bench despite an impressive performance last time out Eintracht Frankfurt, when he scored. Tella, who started the last game was also benched for the entire game.
It did not affect Die Werkself, but they survived a scare. Roma got the lead through Leandro Paredes in the 43rd minute. Then, the Argentinian scored the second in the 68th minute to make it 2-2 on aggregate.
However, after going down, Bayer Leverkusen started piling the pressure. They eventually got the reward in the 82nd minute, as Gianluca Mancini scored an own goal to make it 2-1.
That result would have seen Bayer Leverkusen through, but they still had an unbeaten record to preserve. It looked like it would end 2-1, but just like they've been doing throughout this season, Leverkusen conjured a goal. Josip Stanisic, who was introduced into the game in the 90th minute scored the vital equalizer for Bayer Leverkusen to extend their unbeaten run to 49 and seal their place in the final of the Europa League, where they will play Atalanta.
