After a 0-0 draw against Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday propelled Jose Mourinho’s Roma through 1-0 on aggregate, they are still on course to win their second European championship in two seasons.
As the home team grew increasingly angry and pelted their goal in pursuit of an equalizer, the holders of the Europa Conference League defended tenaciously despite having little offensive success.
The foreign team survived through the eight minutes of extra time and will compete in the final in Budapest in late May against either Juventus or Sevilla.
Edoardo Bove, a midfielder from Rome who scored in the first leg’s second half, gave Roma a slim 1-0 advantage going into the game.
Mourinho, known for his defensive tactics, has stayed true to form this Europa League season, with the Europa Conference League holders conceding just three goals in eight knockout games on the way to the final.
Leverkusen, who have beaten Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and RB Leipzig at home this season, started brighter, with 20-year-old creator Florian Wirtz pulling the strings in midfield.
Wirtz linked with France forward Moussa Diaby after 12 minutes and the Paris Saint-Germain junior rattled the crossbar.
The same combination linked again ten minutes later, Diaby heading just wide.
Iran striker Sardar Azmoun was pulled down on the counter on the edge of the box with the first-half winding down but the referee waved the incident away despite the protests of the home players.
Lekerkusen’s Spanish coach Xabi Alonso brought on French winger Amine Adli and the French winger almost created the equaliser, finding Azmoun in the box — but the Iranian dragged his shot just wide.
With the clock winding down, the home fans became increasingly incensed with the visitors’ stalling tactics, resulting in eight minutes of added time.
As the full-time whistle went, an elated Mourinho went directly to the visiting fans, shaking the net.
For Roma, who are six points off fourth spot in Serie A with three games to play, the victory not only means a shot at a maiden Europa League title, but a chance at making next year’s Champions League.
Despite the elimination, Leverkusen’s short term looks bright, with Alonso, who has lifted Leverkusen from the relegation spots to a European semi-final since taking over late last year, declaring he would be at the BayArena next season.