In the end, the frustration boiled over. First Edmond Tapsoba went in the book in the 95th minute for trying to rouse a suspiciously injured opponent. Then Xabi Alonso followed him. Then a Tammy Abraham tactical foul saw another yellow card  for Roma and a last chance for Leverkusen. They could not take it.

"It's a shame that in a semifinal at such a high level that this type of play can be rewarded," Leverkusen's Kerem Demirbay told Germany's RTL. "They made things very ugly at the end."

As the whistle blew, Alonso seethed then embraced Jose Mourinho, who coached him at Real Madrid. The Portuguese boss then sprung on to the pitch, arms outstretched, beaming and headed for the away end. His side had just one, off target, shot all night but a 1-0 first leg victory is enough to take them to a second consecutive European final with a 0-0 draw, after they won the Conference League last year. 

"All that was missing was a goal. We did not have that bit of luck," continued Demirbay. "It is part of the game. They are very experienced with an experienced coach. But it's a shame that such tactics pay off. It's bitter for football. But I am proud of the way we played."

The master outfoxes the pupil

It was, in many ways, vintage Mourinho. A gnarly defensive display reminiscent of his Champions League win in 2010. "It's an unbelievable team, I don't know if I can ask for more from Roma but these guys deserve something special," he said postmatch.

For Alonso, it was a tough lesson in a promising debut season as a first team coach. The former Bayern Munich and Spain midfielder took over the Bundesliga side at a low ebb in October and has implemented an attractive style while lifting his side to sixth in the table thanks, largely, to an unbeaten 14 match run that ended against Cologne earlier this month.

"I'm not going to cry", he said in his postmatch press conference, before saying that his side have "many reasons to be optimistic."

Leverkusen have work to do in Bundesliga

"The boys gave it all until the end," Alonso added. "We did everything we could, created lots of chances, had many shots on goal but just could not score. It was small details. We played our game, tried our best until the end and wanted to score. It is sad we did not."

Mourinho now knows his task is to maintain focus in his players before they meet Europa League specialists Sevilla in Budapest for the final next month.

"My concern was going to the final. Sevilla is a very strong team and has great experience," he said. "Then we'll think about it, now we think about the Italian league." 

Alonso has no choice but to do the same in Germany. The Werkself now face a tough task to secure European football in the Bundesliga's remaining two games. They are level on points but one goal worse off than sixth-placed Wolfsburg and host Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday, before a final day trip to Bochum.