Bayer Leverkusen held by PSV Eindhoven in UEFA Champions League

Bayer Leverkusen extended their unbeaten run under Kasper Hjulmand to five competitive matches after playing out a 1-1 draw with PSV Eindhoven at the BayArena.

Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 PSV Eindhoven
Goals: 1-0 Kofane 65', 1-1 Sabari 72' (assist: Til)

Leverkusen were on top for long spells in the first half, with Alejandro Grimaldo striking the woodwork and former PSV attacker Malik Tillman putting the rebound wide inside 11 minutes.

Die Werkself had been given a scare not long before, but ex-Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg winger Ivan Perišić's header was ruled out for offside.

Leverkusen contined to carry the greater threat as their very own Matěj Kovář - on a season-long loan at PSV - made himself big to prevent Tillman breaking the deadlock in a promising one-on-one.

Bayer also threatened twice with headers from corners before the half was up.

Malik Tillman was unlucky not to score against his former club at the BayArena. - Lars Baron

Ernest Poku found the side netting soon after the restart, before Leverkusen got the opener their play deserved, helped by PSV's failed attempts to play out from the back.

Kofane was the beneficiary, the 19-year-old forward skipping in ahead of Kovář to tuck away his first Champions League goal.

Leverkusen's lead lasted less than 10 minutes, though, as Ismael Saibari whipped a superb effort into the top corner as Hjulmand's side were held to a second successive Champions League draw.

Match stats

• Leverkusen boss Hjulmand has won two and drawn three since taking over from Erik ten Hag.
• Kofane scored his second goal in eight games for Leverkusen. He also has an assist.
• Tillman made 15 Champions League appearances for PSV, scoring three goals.
• Kovář has made 32 appearances between the Leverkusen posts.
• Leverkusen had previously only hosted PSV once previously - an incredible 5-4 second-leg win in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup after the first leg in Eindhoven ended goalless.
• Bayer were the only German team to qualify automatically for last season's knockout rounds.

Teams

Leverkusen: Flekken - Quansah, Badé, Tapsoba - Tape (Arthur 42'), Fernández, García, Grimaldo (c) - Tillman (Maza 80'), Kofane (Echeverri 80'), Poku (Ben Seghir 73')
Unused subs: Blaswich, LombIzekor, Belocian
Out: Andrich (adductor), Hofmann (ineligible), Palacios (adductor), Sarco (ineligible), Schick (hamstring), Tella (knee), Terrier (ineligible), Vázquez (unconfirmed)
Coach: Kasper Hjulmand

PSV: Kovář - Mauro Júnior, Obispo (Flaminigo 66'), Gasiorowski, Salah-Eddine - Schouten (c), Saibari, Veerman - Man (Bajraktarevic 73'), Til, Perišić (Driouech 73')
Unused subs: Olij, Schiks, Wanner, Fernandez, Nagalo, Van Duiven
Out: Pepi (leg), Pléa (knee), Van Bommel (knee)
Coach: Peter Bosz

As it happened!

1 - 1

(0 - 0)

Leverkusen

FINAL

PSV

Champions League
League phase, Matchday 2 League phase, Matchday 2 BayArena

Full-time: Leverkusen 1-1 PSV

The game finishes level. Probably a fair result in the end. Leverkusen took the lead after a defensive mix-up that allowed Kofane to pounce, only to be pinned back seven minutes later thanks to a tidy finish from Saibari. The result leaves Leverkusen with it all to do and with some tough UCL fixtures still on the horizon.

© PAU BARRENA

Full-time

90'

+ 3

Grimaldo almost wins it

Maza does well to snaffle up a loose ball that drops into the path of Grimaldo. The Spaniard has the chance to shoot from the edge of the box, but Kovář gets down well to make the save.

90'

+ 2

Yellow card

Ismael Saibari

90'

Four minutes added on

Still time for a winner here.

87'

PSV looking the more likely

The visitors are continuing to look threatening, but there is also space for Leverkusen on the counter.

81'

Another good effort from Saibari

The Moroccan has been at the heart of everything for PSV today. Now he is found on the edge of the box and strikes one with his left that goes over the bar.

80'

Substitution

Ibrahim Maza

Malik Tillman

80'

Substitution

Claudio Echeverri

Christian Kofane

78'

PSV on top

The visitors have really stepped things up a gear since that equaliser, and Leverkusen are struggling to deal with the increased intensity.

73'

Substitution

Couhaib Driouech

Ivan Perišić

73'

Substitution

Esmir Bajraktarević

Dennis Man

73'

Substitution

Eliesse Ben Seghir

Ernest Poku

PSV level

Lovely football from the visitors, and the scores are level. Til finds himself on the ball on the left and feeds Saibari in the centre. He takes a touch and then whips the ball into the far corner. Great finish!

© Lars Baron

72'

Ismael Saibari

GOAL!

1:1

66'

Substitution

Ryan Flamingo

Armando Obispo

Kofane gives Leverkusen the lead

Leverkusen come forward well and look a threat, but PSV get back in numbers to defend. The Dutch side then produce a series of loose passes inside their own penalty area that give Kofane the chance to pinch the ball just in front of the goalkeeper, and the 19-year-old stays composed to tuck home the opener.

© PAU BARRENA

65'

Christian Kofane

GOAL!

1:0

65'

Yellow card

Guus Til

62'

Grimaldo keeping Leverkusen ticking

The Spaniard has been at the heart of everything good from the hosts tonight, producing some delightful passes.

60'

Another dangerous Leverkusen corner

The hosts had some joy in the first half from set-pieces, and again Badé gets on the end of one, but his effort goes wide.

57'

Not Tillman's day so far

Things just aren't quite clicking for Tillman against his former club. He has lost the ball a couple of times and missed that big chance earlier. Now he sees his shot deflect back off the defender for a goal kick.

A good battle

Both sides have been quick to get bodies behind the ball to try to thwart dangerous attacks.

© IMAGO/Ralf Brueck

52'

Veerman has a try

The PSV midfielder finds himself in a bit of space in the middle and decides to have a crack, but his effort is high and wide.

48'

Poku dazzling

The Dutchman skips past his man on the left before driving a shot towards the near post that hits the side netting. Unlucky.

46'

Back underway

Can either side find the breakthrough in the second half?

Kick-off!

Half-time: Leverkusen 0-0 PSV

Level at the break. PSV thought they had the lead early on thanks to a Perišić header, but the Croatian's effort was ruled out for a narrow offside. Since then, Leverkusen have been largely on top and perhaps should have taken the lead when Tillman was sent through against Kovář, but the Leverkusen loanee goalkeeper stood up big to make the save.

© Lars Baron

Half-time

45'

Two minutes added on

Not long now until the break.

42'

Tape's race is run

The 18-year-old has started this game well, but he clearly felt something during his last sprint forward, and now he will have to be replaced. Arthur takes his place.

42'

Substitution

Arthur

Axel Tape

41'

Good football

Man drifts in from the right and feeds a pinpoint pass through to Perišić, but the Croatian can't keep his effort under control, and the ball flies high and wide of the goal.

38'

Badé heads wide from the corner

From the resulting corner, Badé gets up highest, but his header drifts wide to the right.

37'

Inches from the opener

Grimaldo whips in a delightful free-kick from the right that is deflected just wide via a combination of PSV defenders.

34'

Better from PSV

The visitors have improved in the last few minutes. Good play down the right nearly led to a chance for Saibari a couple of minutes ago, and now PSV have a corner after good work down the left. They look dangerous in the air too.

29'

Dominant Leverkusen

The hosts have controlled this game since that disallowed goal, having eight shots in comparison to none from PSV.

24'

A huge chance for the former PSV man

Grimaldo drifts centrally before playing a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Tillman, but the American can't squeeze his effort past the goalkeeper. That was easily the best chance of the game.

The moment PSV thought they had the lead

Perišić thought he had given PSV the advantage inside the opening five minutes, only for the goal to be chalked off for the narrowest of offsides.

© IMAGO

19'

Tabsoba almost finds a way through

Tapsoba almost manages to score in back-to-back games after getting up well from the resulting corner, but he can't quite get his header on target.

18'

Leverkusen on top

The hosts have responded well to that disallowed PSV goal. Poku becomes the latest to add to the shot count after good battling from Kofane and Tillman. Poku's effort is deflected out for a corner.

15'

García tries his luck

The Spanish midfielder finds himself in a bit of space in the centre and has a go, but his long-range effort drifts wide.

14'

Poku has a go

The youngster skips inside from the left before drilling in a low shot, but his effort is comfortably saved by Kovář.

11'

Grimaldo hits the post

Grimaldo is found in the box and heads towards the byline before deciding to shoot from the angle instead of crossing. The Spaniard gets everything behind the shot, but the ball bounces clear off the woodwork. Tillman then tries an effort from the rebound that squirms wide.

9'

Both sides exchanging possession

We're yet to see a shot on goal so far, other than the disallowed goal. Both sides have been exchanging phases of possession, but not creating chances.

4'

The visitors have the ball in the net

But it won't count. Former Bayern man, Perišić, nods the ball home after a delightful cross from the right from Man, but after a review, the Croatian is given offside. That is a let-off for Leverkusen, who were court napping for a moment.

1'

We're underway

Can Leverkusen get their first Champions League win of the season?

Kick-off!

Players on the pitch

The famous Champions League anthem is ringing around the stadium, not long until kick-off now.

Kick-off fast approaching

The players are in the tunnel, not long now until we get underway.

A strong record on home turf

Leverkusen are in great form on home turf in group/league phase European football, winning their last seven.

Former Bayern man on the bench

Ex-Bayern youngster Wanner is only on the bench for tonight's game. He'll be homing to make a difference should he be given the opportunity.

© IMAGO/Joris Verwijst

More on those teams

Hjulmand makes three changes from the side that beat St. Pauli at the weekend, with Kofane and Fernández replacing the injured pair of Schick and Andrich. Poku, meanwhile, gets the nod over Ben Seghir after scoring the winner at the weekend. Former Leverkusen boss, Bosz, also makes three changes to the PSV side that beat Excelsior in the Eredivisie at the weekend.

© IMAGO/Herbertz / Nico Herbertz

Leverkusen starting XI

Flekken - Quansah, Badé, Tapsoba - Tape, Fernández, García, Grimaldo (c) - Tillman, Poku - Kofane.

Leverkusen subs

Blaswich, Lomb, Echeverri, Arthur, Ben Seghir, Maza, Izekor, Belocian.

PSV starting XI

Kovář - Mauro Júnior, Obispo, Gasiorowski, Salah-Eddine - Schouten (c), Saibari, Veerman - Man, Til, Perišić.

PSV subs

Olij, Schiks, Flaminigo, Wanner, Driouech, Bajraktarevic, Fernandez, Nagalo, Van Duiven.

Leverkusen's youth setting the benchmark

Ahead of tonight's main event, Leverkusen and PSV's youth sides faced off today, with the home side fighting back from 2-1 down at the break to win 3-2. That means the Werkself U19 have now won two out of two in the UEFA Youth League.

Meijer and Tillman become Hjulmand's spies

Coach Hjulmand admitted that his assistant Rogier Meijer, a former Eredivisie coach with NEC Nijmegen, and Tillman have provided insight into their opponents: "Both were able to tell me a lot, especially about the players, and give me valuable little details. Rogier does a great job on the training ground. He is very professional and has a good insight of football."

© IMAGO/Jan Huebner

Small sample size

Leverkusen have only ever faced Dutch opposition once in the Champions League, which came last season. They beat Feyenoord 4-0 at De Kuip thanks to goals from Florian Wirtz (2), Alejandro Grimaldo and an own goal.

© IMAGO/Box to Box Pictures/Yannick Verhoeven

PSV back in Germany

This will be their eighth visit to Germany in the Champions League, and they'll be looking to pick up their first win there. In their seven visits until now, they've lost six and drawn once, with that sole result coming in a 1-1 tie with Borussia Dortmund in the 2002/03 competition.

© IMAGO / Uwe Kraft

Peter Bosz on returning to Leverkusen

"Leverkusen is one of the clubs where I've worked the longest. I enjoyed this period, except for the day I was kicked out. I had a lot of fun here with great people, players and staff."

© IMAGO

Edmond Tapsoba on reuniting with Peter Bosz

"He was my first coach here. I remember my first days and that he let me play against Dortmund straight away. That was a surprise for me, but it also characterises him because he's always prepared to take a certain amount of risk. You can also see that in his attacking style of play. It will be an intense duel tomorrow, we're prepared for that."

© MARTIN MEISSNER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Kasper Hjulmand on facing PSV

"Our focus is on showing our identity on the pitch and playing the way we want to. We’ll give our all to win. I have known [PSV coach] Peter Bosz, his clear style of play and his philosophy for many years."

© IMAGO

Previous meetings

The only two times that these sides have met came in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup campaign. Leverkusen won the first game of a two-legged affair 5-4, before drawing 0-0 away in Eindhoven.

© IMAGO / Kolvenbach

PSV probable XI

Kovář - Mauro Júnior, Flamingo, Gasiorowski, Salah-Eddine - Schouten (c), Saibari, Veerman - Perišić, Pepi, Wanner

Leverkusen probable XI

Flekken - Quansah, Badé, Tapsoba - Vázquez, Fernández, García, Grimaldo (c) - Tillman, Ben Seghir - Kofane

Injury blow for Die Werkself

Patrik Schick will be a huge miss for Hjulmand in preparation for PSV. The Leverkusen forward suffered a hamstring injury against St. Pauli and has been ruled out of action for two weeks.

© IMAGO/Henning Rohlfs

Reunion

Peter Bosz will return to the BayArena as Eindhoven boss. The Dutch tactician was Leverkusen head coach between 2018-2021.

© Justin Setterfield

Not a great record

Since the 2000/01 season, PSV have just won three times against German opposition in 14 competitive meetings. This will be their first clash against Leverkusen in the 21st century.

© Dean Mouhtaropoulos

Kovář returns

Czechia keeper Matej Kovář is also set to face parent club Leverkusen after joining PSV on loan in the summer. Currently the number one for his side, Kovar has kept one clean sheet in seven Eredivisie matches.

© IMAGO/RHR-FOTO

Eyes on Tillman

Malik Tillman joined Die Werkself from PSV in the summer and is set for a reunion with the Dutch giants where he played for two seasons, winning the Eredivisie in both campaigns before switching to the BayArena.

© IMAGO

Decent start

Leverkusen's Matchday 1 encounter against Copenhagen resulted in a 2-2 draw. Against PSV, Hjulmand will hope to go one better.

© IMAGO/Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images

Victory on the road

Ernest Poku's winner was enough for Leverkusen to claim all three points on Matchday 5 in Hamburg, giving new coach Kasper Hjulmand a second victory since taking charge.

© IBRAHIM OT

Welcome!

Welcome along to live coverage of Bayer Leverkusen's second match in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League at home to PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands on Wednesday.

About the clubs

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

BayArena