Bayer after punching through to the UEL semis: "An awesome adventure continues."
Leverkusen starters Lukas Hradecky, Robert Andrich, and head-coach Xabi Alonso were understandably over the moon when conducting their post-match interviews on Thursday evening after punching through to the 2022/23 Europa League semi-finals.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen head-coach Xabi Alonso declared himself completely satisfied with his team's performance after a 4-1 win in Belgium on Thursday night enabled Germany's red company team to punch through to the Europa League semi-finals. Bayer's Spanish trainer emphasized that "it wasn't easy to come here and win like this", reserving special praise for the mentality of his team.
Midfield general Robert Andrich could only declare that he was "very, very happy" with what just transpired. The squad's actual captain reflected on the team's progress after a year that got off to a disastrous start. Skipper Lukas Hradecky has had to face a number of questions about his ability to still lead the team after multiple mistakes contributed to the team's prolonged autumn slump.
Hradecky noted that he reminded his men how far they'd come.
"I just said to Jona [Jonathan Tah] in the locker room, rewind six months and think about where we were," the Finnish net-minder told RTL+, "We've made great progress. An awesome adventure continues."
Andrich - not knowing who the team's next opponent would be whilst conducting his post-match interview - said that "the boys would probably like to go to Rome." The midfielder got his wish after 120 minutes were played at the Stadio Olimpico in the Italian capital.
Leverkusen will face Jose Mourinho's AS Roma next.