Bayer Leverkusen put one foot in the Europa League final as Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich scored in Thursday's 2-0 semi-final first-leg win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

Roma were masters of their own downfall as Wirtz opened the scoring after 28 minutes, Rick Karsdorp's horrible error allowing Alex Grimaldo to race into the area and tee up Wirtz to finish into an unguarded net.

Though Daniele De Rossi's hosts improved after the break, Andrich added a spectacular second with 73 minutes on the clock, the midfielder giving Mile Svilar no chance as he side-footed into the top-left corner from 25 yards out.

Roma should have pulled one back four minutes into stoppage time, but Tammy Abraham could only nod over from inside the six-yard box after a goalmouth scramble, and they now have it all to do in next week's second leg.

Leverkusen's unbeaten run for 2023-24 stands at 47 games across all competitions (39 wins, eight draws), and they are now overwhelming favourites to stamp their ticket to the final in Dublin.

The other semi-final tie remains in the balance at the halfway stage, with Atalanta being pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.

Having scored twice in La Dea's memorable win at Anfield in the last round, Gianluca Scamacca took in Teun Koopmeiners' pass before finishing low across goal 11 minutes in, but Gian Piero Gasperini's team couldn't hold on.

Chancel Mbemba was the unlikely goalscorer for Marseille, stepping out of defence to clip a 25-yard effort against the far post and in after 20 minutes.

Neither side could find a winner from there, meaning it's all to play for ahead of next week's return fixture at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.  

West Ham bowed out of the Europa League but only after giving new German champions Bayer Leverkusen an almighty fright.

Michail Antonio’s early goal had the Hammers, 2-0 down from the first leg, dreaming of inflicting a first defeat of the season on Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen and of maybe reaching a third European semi-final in three years.

But they were unable to find a second and were then left crastfallen when a deflected goal from Jeremie Frimpong a minute from time made it 1-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate to end the Hammers’ hopes.

Few gave David Moyes’ side any chance of overturning the deficit against one of the best teams in Europe, even if they were a little jaded after celebrating their first Bundesliga crown on Sunday.

At the very least West Ham knew they needed a fast start, and both the team and the crowd were instantly unrecognisable from the meek 2-0 home defeat by Fulham four days earlier.

The first shot in anger did come from Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, whose 20-yard effort was acrobatically saved by Hammers keeper Lukasz Fabianksi despite it being his 39th birthday.

But the first goal was always going to have to come from West Ham if they were going to make anything resembling a contest out of it, and it arrived in the 14th minute when Jarrod Bowen swung a cross into the box.

Antonio got above Leverkusen centre-half Odilon Kossounou and in front of keeper Matej Kovar to guide his header into the net as a raucous home crowd genuinely started to believe something special could be in the air.

It was almost two four minutes later when Mohammed Kudus shook off the attentions of Kossounou and hit a deflected shot which Kovar did well to smother.

It was enough to rattle Alonso, who removed Kossounou from the firing line with less than half an hour gone, the Ivory Coast defender heading straight down the tunnel.

Tempers flared between the benches moments later with the Hammers’ mild-mannered first-team coach Billy McKinlay sent off along with Sebastian Parrilla from Leverkusen’s bench.

Still West Ham attacked and Edson Avarez’s shot looked goalbound until it hit Antonio’s backside, with Kovar holding Bowen’s follow-up.

Alonso made two further changes at the break, with big guns Victor Boniface and Frimpong called into action.

After the break Bowen, still a lively presence despite only passing a late fitness test, robbed Piero Hincapie in the area only to pull his shot across goal.

But Leverkusen were finding their rhythm. Frimpong should have wrapped up the tie with 10 minutes left when he raced through one-on-one with Fabianski, only to lift his shot way over the crossbar.

But with two minutes left Frimpong did strike, his shot taking a huge deflection off Aaron Cresswell to end West Ham’s European adventure.

Florian Wirtz should follow Xabi Alonso's lead and reject interest from Europe's top clubs to stay at Bayer Leverkusen beyond this season, says former Germany international Carsten Ramelow.

Wirtz has been one of the standout performers in a remarkable campaign for Leverkusen, who are just one win away from clinching their first Bundesliga title.

The attacking midfielder has 18 goal involvements in 28 league outings this term (eight goals, 10 assists), with his latest goal coming from the penalty spot in Saturday's win over Union Berlin.  

Among all Bundesliga players, Wirtz ranks third for successful dribbles (77), fifth for chances created (70) and fourth for expected assists (9.23 xA) this season.

His performances have won him plenty of admirers, with Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Real Madrid among those credited with an interest in the 20-year-old.

However, after seeing head coach Alonso reaffirm his commitment to Leverkusen, Ramelow, who made over 400 appearances for Die Werkself between 1995 and 2008, thinks Wirtz should follow suit. 

"For Leverkusen, he is indispensable," the 2002 World Cup finalist told Stats Perform. "The same goes for the national team, where he has found a good role. 

"There's a lot of speculation. When you're in great form, the big teams come knocking. Leverkusen hope he will continue with them for a while and move on after that. 

"In my opinion, it would be good for his development to stay in Leverkusen, because you can see if young players leave too early, it is not always good."

With Alonso refusing to jump ship, Ramelow feels Leverkusen still have plenty to offer Wirtz, saying: "To show consistent performances, you have to be where you feel happy, and I think Leverkusen is a good place currently. 

"They are so consistent. They have a lot of confidence and also a pinch of luck in the final moments to win games. That's really good. You have to look at the collective, the coach and his staff.

"But of course, Wirtz is a very young player who showed his talent many times over the last few years. He has made really good development and has lots more to come.

"Why not continue on that path for another one, two, maybe even three years and make the next step afterwards? This is what I think is the right way, but we will see what decision Wirtz takes."

Remarkably, Leverkusen are yet to lose a game in any competition this season. They have just six further games to navigate in the Bundesliga, while they will face second tier Kaiserslautern in May's DFB-Pokal final and are among the favourites to win the Europa League.

 As Leverkusen look to banish the ghosts of 2001-02 – when they finished as runners up in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League – Ramelow says all the credit lies with Alonso.

"When he arrived in Leverkusen, he was facing a few problems, which is normal. I think you have to give managers some time in this day and age," Ramelow said.

"That is what they did with him. He explained his philosophy and ideas very well to the team. The boys execute that really well. 

"The whole package is in perfect harmony. The season they have played is phenomenal. Their streak is sensational and it looks like they will do this until the end. 

"Every team has a bit of a lapse every season, but Leverkusen have been exceptional across all competitions. They can still win everything. Things are looking really good."

Bayer Leverkusen stayed on course for a German league and cup double by thumping Fortuna Dusseldorf 4-0 to reach the DFB-Pokal final.

Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli and Florian Wirtz scored first-half goals as runaway Bundesliga leaders Leverkusen made light work of second-tier opponents at the BayArena.

Wirtz added a fourth from the penalty spot as Xabi Alonso’s side – who are also in the quarter-finals of the Europa League – made it 40 games unbeaten in all competitions this season.

Dusseldorf’s away form in Bundesliga – seven wins and four draws from 14 games – had given them semi-final hope, but this was a much tougher challenge than they were accustomed to.

The size of their task was laid bare within four minutes when Emmanuel Iyoha’s last-ditch tackle prevented Frimpong from opening the scoring.

Marlon Mustapha instantly managed a weak shot at the other end, but the unmarked Frimpong rifled Leverkusen ahead after seven minutes with a ferocious shot into the roof of the net.

Leverkusen doubled their lead after 20 minutes from a lightning counter-attack launched from deep inside their own penalty area.

Wirtz released Adli and his unerring low finish into the corner of the net gave goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier no chance.

There was a massive chasm between the sides and Leverkusen rammed home their superiority after 35 minutes.

Dusseldorf were caught out playing from the back and Adli repaid the compliment as Wirtz finished in style.

Wirtz saw another effort tipped over by Kastenmeier before Andre Hoffmann and Christos Tzolis threatened for Dusseldorf.

But Matej Kovar stood firm in the home goal and Leverkusen added a fourth on the hour mark.

Patrik Schick’s header was going wide, but the ball clipped the hand of Matthias Zimmermann to be diverted on to the post.

It was definitely not an intentional intervention from Zimmerman, but the referee was sent to the monitor for a VAR review and a penalty awarded.

Wirtz, fresh from scoring after six seconds for Germany against France, sent his devastating spot-kick in to the corner.

Dusseldorf wanted their own penalty after 74 minutes when Tzolis tangled with Frimpong in the box.

On first glance it looked as if Tzolis had got there first, but on closer examination Frimpong’s challenge was shown to be legitimate.

Leverkusen welcomed back Victor Boniface for the final 15 minutes, the 16-goal Nigeria striker having not played since December 20 because of a muscle injury.

Substitute Nathan Tella was denied a late fifth, but the party had already started with flares lighting up the BayArena.

Leverkusen – 13 points clear of Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga – will play second-tier Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final in Berlin on May 25.

Florian Wirtz scored after just seven seconds as Germany grabbed a surprise 2-0 friendly win over France in Lyon.

The 20-year-old Bayer Leverkusen forward struck moments after kick-off as the Euro 2024 hosts stunned the tournament favourites.

There was also an immediate assist for Toni Kroos, back in a Germany shirt three years after announcing his international retirement.

Straight from the whistle, the 34-year-old chipped the ball forward to Wirtz, who had darted to midway inside the France half.

Wirtz controlled the ball, took two more touches as he strolled forward before lashing his shot home from 20 yards.

It was the youngster’s first goal for his country and would have been the fastest international goal on record had Austria’s Christoph Baumgartner not opened the scoring after six seconds in his country’s friendly against Slovakia earlier on Saturday.

The previous quickest was Lukas Podolski’s strike for Germany against Ecuador in 2013.

France dominated the rest of the first half but Marcus Thuram side-footed their first decent chance over the crossbar from the edge of the box.

Kylian Mbappe then brought down a cross in the area only to shank his shot wide, before Aurelien Tchouameni skied a cross from Ousmane Dembele.

But Germany made it to half-time in front and promptly doubled their lead three minutes into the second half.

Wirtz turned provider, lifting the ball into the path of Jamal Musiala, who drove diagonally round France goalkeeper Brice Samba.

The Bayern Munich winger reached the byline before pulling the ball back for Arsenal forward Havertz to slot in his 15th international goal.

Mbappe, enduring a quiet evening, got himself booked after a tussle with Robert Andrich before firing an ambitious shot wide.

Stuttgart defender Maximilian Mittelstadt almost made it a debut to remember 10 minutes from full-time when he strode forward and fired goalwards.

His shot looked destined to nestle inside the far post until Samba stretched to get a fingertip to the ball and divert it wide.

Samba also denied Thomas Muller with a fine one-handed save after the substitute shot from 14 yards.

Mittelstadt was spared a comical own goal late on by a goal-line clearance from Antonio Rudiger, who sliced the ball onto his own crossbar to cap an ultimately disappointing night for the French.

Substitute Patrick Schick glanced home an injury-time equaliser to preserve Bayer Leverkusen’s remarkable unbeaten record and hand his side control of their Europa League last-16 tie against FC Qarabag.

The Bundesliga leaders looked like giving up their run of 34 matches unbeaten in all competitions when they went in 2-0 down at half-time in Baku, Juninho setting up the first and scoring the second with a silky piece of skill.

But Alonso, who had made eight changes to his starting XI, turned to his bench for inspiration and was rewarded as Florian Wirtz scored a delicate chip and Schick nodded in from close range in added-time.

It was a cruel finish for the Azerbaijani side, who lost twice to the same opponents in the group stages, but a further reminder of the resolve that Leverkusen have developed during a revelatory campaign.

Only Jonathan Tah, Robert Andrich and Alex Grimaldo survived the weekend win over Cologne and Qarabag took their chance to assert themselves in a lively start.

After forging three good chances in quick succession they deservedly took the lead in the 26th minute, Juninho robbing Tah on the press before cutting back across the box for Yassine Benzia. His powerful finish thudded into the roof of the net as the hosts turned up the heat.

The Germans were slow to respond, allowing Leandro Andrade a free header at the far post, and could have no complaints when they conceded again. This time it was brilliance from Juninho, who collected a beauty of a pass to spring the offside trap and race through one on one with Matej Kovar. With the deftest of touches he dragged the ball across the keeper, bouncing it over him with a kick off the pitch and leaving an open net to tap into.

Jeremie Frimpong, Granit Xhaka, Wirtz and Schick were all summoned for the rescue job and it was a much improved Leverkusen who hit back when Wirtz produced an inch-perfect lob in the 70th minute.

Kovar made a strong save from Juninho to keep the scoreline down and the ruthless visiting side hit their sucker punch just as time was running out, Schick planting Andrich’s cross into the bottom corner.

Leverkusen almost turned a draw into a win when Frimpong put a last-gasp header wide and will fancy themselves to finish the job on home soil.

What the papers say

Real Madrid are keen on making Kepa Arrizabalaga’s loan move from Chelsea permanent, according to the Sun. The LaLiga giants reportedly want to pay no more than £17.5million for the 29-year-old Spain goalkeeper, who cost the Blues £71m five years ago.

Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, 30, is being eyed by Juventus as a potential replacement for Paul Pogba, reports the Mirror. The Italian club are said to be looking at a loan deal in January, using the wages saved with Pogba reportedly facing a lengthy ban over a failed drugs test and Nicolo Fagiolo suspended for at least seven months over betting breaches.

Liverpool have been given a lift in their interest in Brazilian midfielder Andre according to the Mirror. A previous bid for the 22-year-old from Fluminense was reportedly rejected, but he has now indicated he would be open to a move in January.

Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz is catching Chelsea’s eye at Bayer Leverkusen, reports the Express. But the Blues are said to face competition from Manchester City for the 20-year-old.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Trevoh Chalobah: Borussia Dortmund are interested in the 24-year-old Chelsea defender, 24.

Giorgi Mamardashvili: Chelsea have reportedly watched the Valencia and Georgia goalkeeper, 24.