Leverkusen blows lead as Mainz revival continues
UEFA Champions League hopeful Bayer Leverkusen dropped points in the Bundesliga on Sunday (AEDT) after conceding two late goals to draw 2-2 with struggling Mainz.
Lucas Alario tapped in a low Moussa Diaby cross to give Leverkusen the lead on 14 minutes beofre Patrik Schick appeared to have sealed three points with a second on 84 minutes.
But second-from-bottom Mainz was rewarded for a brave performance as late goals by Robert Glatzel and Kevin Stoeger saved a point and continued its recent revival under new coach Bo Svensson.
Elsewhere, Werder Bremen was held to a 0-0 draw at home to Freiburg while Sami Khedira helped rescue a 1-1 draw for Hertha Berlin against boyhood club Stuttgart.
"It was the first time I'd ever played against Stuttgart so it was strange, but it was nice to come back," Khedira, who joined Hertha from Juventus in January after a decade abroad, said.
Austrian striker Sasa Kalajdzic headed in his ninth goal of the season to give Stuttgart the lead at the end of a scrappy first half.
Veteran midfielder Khedira came off the bench in the second-half and set up a late equaliser for 17-year-old Luca Netz to save the capital club from a fifth straight defeat.
Union Berlin and Schalke played out a goalless draw to complete Sunday's (AEDT) fixtures.
