Leverkusen: Alejandro Grimaldo scored an 88th-minute equaliser as Bayer Leverkusen snatched a 2-2 home draw against Newcastle in the Champions League on Wednesday.
With Leverkusen leading through a Bruno Guimaraes own goal, Anthony Gordon levelled things up from the spot after a goalkeeping howler from Mark Flekken early in the second half. Newcastle took the lead when Gordon assisted Lewis Miley but Grimaldo, Leverkusen’s standout player this season, had the last word, scoring in the dying stages to share the spoils.
The draw leaves Newcastle on 10 points and Leverkusen with nine, with two matches remaining in the group stages. Last season, the 11-point mark was enough to qualify for the top 24 and the knockout rounds. Of the two, the Premier League outfit face the tougher draw, hosting PSV Eindhoven followed by a trip to champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Leverkusen face Olympiacos and Villarreal, who both languish near the bottom of the table. Half an hour before kick-off, the hosts were hit with the news coach Kasper Hjulmand would miss the match due to personal reasons.
Taking over from the sacked Erik ten Hag after just two league games, Hjulmand had tried to get back to basics and the hosts took the lead in simple fashion. With 13 minutes gone, Aleix Garcia lofted in a corner to Andrich at the far post.
Shrugging off Sandro Tonali, the Leverkusen captain’s header was off target but connected with Guimaraes’ back and bounced into the net. Leverkusen were on top at the break but brought Newcastle back into the match with a goalkeeping howler early in the second period. A peripheral figure in the first-half, Nick Woltemade pressured Flekken into a poor mistake, seemingly sneaking up on the Leverkusen goalie who pulled the Newcastle frontman down in the box. Gordon nervelessly converted the spot kick and almost had another minutes later, hitting the inside of the post with Flekken beaten.
