Bayer Leverkusen produces astonishing comeback to go 49 games unbeaten and reach Europa League final

CNN — Bayer Leverkusen’s remarkable season took another extraordinary turn on Thursday as a late 2-2 draw against AS Roma stretched the club’s unbeaten run to 49 games.

The 4-2 aggregate victory saw Leverkusen reach a first European final in 22 years, while Josip Stanišić’s 97th-minute strike ensured that the recently-crowned German champion remains undefeated this season.

It means that Leverkusen has now surpassed Portuguese team Benfica’s record from 1963-65 for the longest unbeaten run across all top-level matches since the introduction of European competitions, according to UEFA.

Leverkusen had come into the second-leg match at the BayArena with a two-goal lead, though that advantage was cancelled out when Leandro Paredes converted two penalties for Roma either side of halftime.