Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said his team deserve to win all three trophies available to them this season after they qualified for the Europa League final by seeing off Roma on Thursday.
Leverkusen, who have already wrapped up the Bundesliga title and will contest the DFB-Pokal final on May 25, stretched their unbeaten run through all competitions this season to 49 matches, surpassing Benfica's long-standing European top-tier record set between 1963 and 1965.
Once again, they did it the hard way after two Leandro Paredes penalties wiped out their first-leg advantage, with a Gianluca Mancini own goal and a stoppage-time strike from Josip Stanisic completing a dramatic comeback.
Following their 4-2 aggregate victory, Roma will face Atalanta in the May 22 final in Dublin, after La Dea overcame Marseille 4-1 on aggregate in the other semi-final.
"We'll play two finals in a week as a result," Alonso said. "We showed great character today after their second goal.
"I looked my players in the eye afterwards and saw that they wanted more.
"We still have the chance to win three titles, and my boys deserve all three titles."
Despite going 3-2 up on aggregate when Mancini put through his own net, Leverkusen refused to sit back as they looked to preserve their unbeaten record, which they did through Stanisic's 97th-minute strike.
Asked whether that goal was one of the biggest moments of his career, the Bayern Munich loanee said: "Definitely one of them.
"We knew what was at stake, we really wanted to get to the final and I think you could see that over 90 minutes today.
"I don't think we would have cared in the end if we lost and still progressed because we really wanted to get to the final, but it's even nicer this way."
For Roma, the chance to reach a second straight Europa League final after last season's defeat by Sevilla on penalties slipped away in the dying minutes of the match.
"When you manage to get it back from 2-0 down and go close to the miracle, knowing nobody has ever beaten them this season, it hurts to see us concede a goal like that. It hurts," Roma boss Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
Nagelsmann hits out at 'racist' poll about make-up of Germany squad
Julian Nagelsmann has condemned a "racist" survey from German public broadcaster ARD, which asked respondents whether there should be more white players in the national team.
State broadcaster ARD asked 1,304 participants whether they would like to see more white players representing Germany at Euro 2024, with 21 per cent of respondents answering yes.
Germany and Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich described the poll as "absolute nonsense" on Saturday, saying the diversity of the national team was a major positive.
Coach Nagelsmann echoed those sentiments during a media briefing at the team's Herzogenaurach training base on Sunday, saying: "It is racist. I feel we need to wake up.
"Many people now in Europe had to flee, searching for a safe country.
"Josh responded really well, with a very clear and thought-out statement. I see this in exactly the same way. This question is insane.
"There are people in Europe who have had to flee because of war, economic factors, environmental disasters, people who simply want to be taken in.
"We have to ask: What are we doing at the moment?
"We in Germany are doing very, very well, and when we say something like that, I think it's crazy how we turn a blind eye and simply block out such things."
Memphis Depay to leave Atletico Madrid as a free agent
Memphis Depay has confirmed he is leaving Atletico Madrid after 18 months at the Civitas Metropolitano.
Depay joined Atleti in a €4million deal last January after struggling to make an impression at Barcelona, initially signing a two-and-a-half-year contract.
However, the Netherlands international – who has been named in Ronald Koeman's squad for Euro 2024 – has now agreed to part ways with the club 12 months early.
Depay scored nine goals in 31 league appearances throughout his time with Atleti, though the form of Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann limited him to just 12 starts.
In a post to X, the attacker hinted the parting was not entirely amicable, writing: "It's not easy to say how I feel about writing this message because I feel that things could’ve been very different.
"Maybe it's better to keep that conversation for another time…
"To Atleti, my team-mates, the staff and especially the fans, I want to thank you for the energy and support I've experienced in my time being an Atleti player.
"I keep the good memories close to my heart. Gracias."
Italiano confirms Fiorentina exit after Atalanta victory
Vincenzo Italiano confirmed he is leaving Europa Conference League runners-up Fiorentina after they ended their Serie A campaign with a 3-2 win at Atalanta on Sunday.
Italiano took charge of Fiorentina in 2021 and has led them to three successive top-eight finishes in Serie A, also reaching the Europa Conference League final in back-to-back campaigns.
However, they were beaten by a last-gasp Jarrod Bowen goal as West Ham lifted the trophy last year, then lost out to Olympiacos in extra time in the 2023-24 final.
The Viola wrapped up their campaign with an impressive 3-2 win at Atalanta in a rescheduled fixture on Sunday, after which he announced his departure.
"We all took this decision together not many weeks ago," Italiano told reporters after Sunday's game. "You reach a certain point where you have to stop.
"I'm convinced whoever arrives will be able to continue a path that will leave something improved, I hope I have left something to this group, I think they have been three positive years.
"The only regret was not having added the trophy, but as [Atalanta coach Gian Piero] Gasperini told me, these paths are worthwhile and will be remembered."
Reflecting on Fiorentina's latest European near miss, Italiano said he was confident his team would come out on top if the game was replayed.
He also said he regretted being unable to end a traumatic season with silverware, with the club being rocked by the death of general manager Joe Barone in March.
"I would play Olympiacos again tonight, we were all convinced we could beat them. We all believed we could reach the end of the cycle but we didn't succeed," Italiano said.
"The saddest moment was the loss of our director, the worst moment since I was in football. The love we had for him pushed us towards an emotional ending."
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