By Ciara FlemingBBC Sport
Last updated on .From the section European Football
Bayer Leverkusen claimed a 2-0 first-leg victory at Roma to take command of their Europa League semi-final.
Goals from Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich gave the Bundesliga champions only their second win in Italy.
Roma had just two shots on target with striker Romelu Lukaku cutting an isolated figure before being replaced after 80 minutes.
Substitute Tammy Abraham spurned a golden chance to reduce the arrears in stoppage time.
After an opening half hour short on quality, Leverkusen broke the deadlock when full-back Alex Grimaldo raced on to a misplaced backpass before setting up midfielder Wirtz for his 18th goal of the season.
Hosts Roma hit back with a flurry of chances but were unable to find a leveller before the interval.
Midfielder Andrich then doubled Leverkusen’s lead midway through the second half, firing into the top-left corner from long range.
The victory stretched Xabi Alonso’s side’s unbeaten run to 47 matches in all competitions.
The other semi-final first leg between Marseille and Atalanta finished 1-1 at Stade Vélodrome.
Forward Gianluca Scamacca put the visitors ahead after 11 minutes before defender Chancel Mbemba equalised with a long-range strike nine minutes later.
Both sides missed further chances in the game, with the tie left in the balance before the second leg in Bergamo next week.
Line-ups
Roma
Formation 4-3-3
- 99Svilar
- 2KarsdorpSubstituted forAngelinoat 62′minutes
- 23Mancini
- 6Smalling
- 37SpinazzolaBooked at 74mins
- 4CristanteBooked at 77mins
- 16ParedesSubstituted forBaldanziat 79′minutes
- 7PellegriniBooked at 30mins
- 21DybalaSubstituted forAbrahamat 90+1′minutes
- 90LukakuSubstituted forAzmounat 79′minutes
- 92El Shaarawy
Substitutes
- 1Rui Patrício
- 5Ndicka
- 9Abraham
- 14Llorente
- 17Azmoun
- 20Renato Sanches
- 22Aouar
- 35Baldanzi
- 52Bove
- 59Zalewski
- 63Boer
- 69Angelino
B Leverkusen
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 17Kovár
- 12Tapsoba
- 4TahBooked at 16mins
- 3Hincapié
- 2Stanisic
- 8AndrichBooked at 76mins
- 34XhakaBooked at 74mins
- 20GrimaldoSubstituted forKossounouat 90+3′minutes
- 30FrimpongSubstituted forPalaciosat 88′minutes
- 21AdliSubstituted forTellaat 77′minutes
- 10WirtzSubstituted forHofmannat 77′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Hrádecky
- 6Kossounou
- 7Hofmann
- 9Iglesias
- 13de Matos Soares
- 14Schick
- 19Tella
- 22Boniface
- 23Hlozek
- 25Palacios
- 32Puerta
- 36Lomb
- Referee:
- François Letexier
Live Text
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Match ends, Roma 0, Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2.
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Second Half ends, Roma 0, Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2.
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Attempt blocked. Exequiel Palacios (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
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Attempt missed. Tammy Abraham (Roma) header from very close range is too high. Assisted by Stephan El Shaarawy.
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Substitution, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Odilon Kossounou replaces Álex Grimaldo.
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Substitution, Roma. Tammy Abraham replaces Paulo Dybala.
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Foul by Gianluca Mancini (Roma).
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Álex Grimaldo (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Substitution, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Exequiel Palacios replaces Jeremie Frimpong.
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Offside, Roma. Sardar Azmoun is caught offside.
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Attempt blocked. Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Gianluca Mancini with a cross.
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Attempt saved. Sardar Azmoun (Roma) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Lorenzo Pellegrini with a through ball.
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Substitution, Roma. Tommaso Baldanzi replaces Leandro Paredes.
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Substitution, Roma. Sardar Azmoun replaces Romelu Lukaku.
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Bryan Cristante (Roma) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Nathan Tella (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Bryan Cristante (Roma).
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Substitution, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Nathan Tella replaces Amine Adli.
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Substitution, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Jonas Hofmann replaces Florian Wirtz.
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Robert Andrich (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
