Two games, one with Lookman’s Atlanta, stand between Boniface and Tella, and an unbeaten season with Leverkusen
Two members of the Super Eagles, Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella are just two matches away from achieving an unprecedented unbeaten season with Bundesliga giant Bayern Leverkusen.
One of the games is the Europa League final on Wednesday against Italian club Atalanta where another Eagles star Ademola Lookman plays his club.
Lookman and teammates are determined to end Atalanta's 61-year wait for a trophy when they face Boniface and Tell and their Leverkusen colleagues in Dublin on Wednesday evening.
Leverkusen completed a full Bundesliga season by losing on Saturday -- extending their run to 51 games -- having clinched the title last month.
Xabi Alonso's side now faces two cup finals in four days to achieve a previously unthinkable unbeaten season in domestic and continental competition.
Leverkusen will play in the Europa League final against Atalanta on Wednesday before facing second-tier side Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final on Saturday -- a game in which they are heavily favoured.
Alonso's side have produced several stunning comebacks this season, both domestically and in Europe, and the Europa League has provided some of the biggest tests of their streak.
Three times in six games in the knockout rounds, they were 2-0 down deep into the second half: In both round of 16 games against Qarabag and the semifinal return leg against Roma.
In another streak-saving Europa game, at West Ham in the quarterfinals, Leverkusen were set to advance on aggregate score yet needed an 89th-minute goal by right-back Jeremie Frimpong to draw 1-1 and stay unbeaten.
"We don't want to wait until the last seconds of the game," said Patrick Schick, whose three stoppage-time goals against Qarabag in March were key to advancing 5-4 on aggregate. "We would like to make it clear, really, earlier."
Winning their final two games would complete a remarkable season for Leverkusen, coming in Alonso's first full season as a head coach.
"For me, it's very special," Alonso said last week. "My first title as a coach was the Bundesliga. It was super, it was very special. But a title in Europe would be wonderful and hopefully, we will be able to say that."
