Berlin, 19 April 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Bayer Leverkusen again scored late to continue their unbeaten run this season and advance to the Europa League semi-finals with a 1-1 draw at West Ham on Thursday, while Liverpool were eliminated by Atalanta.

The team led by Jürgen Klopp won 1-0 thanks to Mohammed Salah early winner from the spot, but paid the price for a 3-0 defeat at home in the first leg.

"The damage was done last week, when we were very poor and they had the perfect game. They deserve to go through and we made it far too difficult for ourselves," Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told TNT Sports.

Leverkusen are now the first team from the top five European leagues to go unbeaten in 44 matches, moving one ahead of Italy's Juventus.

The German team sealed their spot in the semis after Jeremie Frimpong's late equalizer cancelled out Michail Antonio's opener. Leverkusen had defeated West Ham 2-0 in the first leg, in which they also scored the two goals within the final 10 minutes of the game.

They will now have a rematch of their 2023 semi-finals against Roma, who defeated AC Milan 2-1 (3-1 on aggragate). Back then, the Italians advanced to the final but lost to Sevilla.

"I'm really looking forward to the rematch. We're all fired up for it," captain Jonathan Tah said.

Atalanta, meanwhile, will face Olympique Marseille, who defeated Benfica 4-2 on penalties.

Nathan Tella tested Lukasz Fabianski in the opening act of the game, but it was West Ham to hit the net first. Jarrod Bowen lofted a fine cross for Michail Antonio, who, between two Leverkusen defenders, planted his header into the goal.

Leverkusen goalkeeper Matej Kovar was crucial to deny West Ham the 2-0, saving a low shot from Mohammed Kudus in the 19th, an effort from Antonio in the 22nd and Bowen's half-volley in the 25th.

But the Germans found their feet in the second half and Frimpong got close when his cross from the right turned into a shot on goal in the 66th, but Fabianski was ready to make a save.

Frimpong should have scored in the 83rd, when he was unmarked but fired the ball well over the crossbar from close range. But he made up for that missed chance with a goal in the 89th that not only secured Leverkusen in the semi-finals, but also their incredible unbeaten run.

Midfielder Granit Xhaka spoke of a "perfect second half. To play the second half like that after a poor 45 minutes once again shows the character of this team, the mentality."

But he avoided speaking of a potential treble winning season. After being crowned Bundesliga champions last weekend, Leverkuse can still win the German Cup and the Europa League.

"First of all, we're happy to have reached the semi-finals. That's not an everyday thing. We have to be proud of what we've achieved today. We want to carry on like this," he said.

Liverpool had hopes they could replay their famous 4-0 against Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League semi-final when Salah gave them the lead from the spot in the seventh minute.

But they struggled in front of the goal and failed to threaten Atalanta.

"We won the game and that was the reaction we wanted to show. It was difficult and we knew it would be but Atalanta deserve to go through, 100%. It is mixed emotions," Klopp said.

Liverpool, trailing Manchester City by two points in the Premier League, have six games to ensure Klopp doesn't leave at the end of the season with only the League Cup trophy.

Roma had the 1-0 lead from the first leg and early goals from Gianluca Mancini and Paulo Dybala put the them firmly in control of the tie.

Roma were down to 10 men in the 31st when Zeki Celik was shown a red card for a foul on Rafael Leão, but Milan failed to make the best out of it and only got a late consolation goal from Matteo Gabbia.

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