Opponents ridiculed Mourinho's style of play

"Playing like that and going deep, reaching the semi-finals, there's nothing to be proud of. It was a bitter defeat. Of course it's football. But we have to congratulate the opponent. He accomplished his goal. spent in a reprehensible way," midfielder Kerem Demirbay told German TV channel RTL.

After losing 0-1 in the first leg in Italy, Leverkusen overwhelmed AS Roma in the second leg but could not score. Demirbay is the best player on the German side. But his performance was not enough to help the home team end a 21-year absence from the European Cup finals. The last time they did that was when they lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final in 2002.

In both games, Roma displayed a tight, Mourinho-style play. Lorenzo Pellegrini's goal won the ticket to the final. Roma will compete for the championship with Spanish club Sevilla - the most successful team in Europa League history with six crowns.

Public midfielder Nadiem Amiri was also disappointed by losing to Roma. He said: "I'm so disappointed. We don't deserve to be eliminated by a team that doesn't know what to play. I wonder how we can lose because of what they showed today and last week. It's not football. A team kicking like a finalist is crazy."

Sharing his views with the players, Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said: "After each kick hit the goal, one of their players was lying on the field and had to be stretched out because he was in so much pain. I think Everyone in the stadium today wished him luck in the final against Sevilla.

Roma will play the Europa League final against Sevilla on the evening of May 31 at the Puskas Arena in Hungary. Last season, Mourinho and his students won Feyenoord 1-0 in the Conference League final - the first European Cup in Roma's history. If they win the Europa League this season, Mourinho's teachers and students will have more tickets to the Champions League.