Leverkusen fire a blank away to Freiburg

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Freiburg - Bayer 04 Leverkusen failed to score for the first time this season after being held to a goalless draw away to a Freiburg side still without a win this term in a game both teams finished with ten men.

Son hits the bar

The match swiftly developed into an intense encounter in Freiburg, with the hard-running hosts denying their visitors the time and space on the ball to exert their game. As such, goalscoring chances were few and far between initially and the majority of the action was concentrated in the middle of the park. However, the dynamic of the game changed when Leverkusen defender Emir Spahic was sent off for a second bookable offence shortly before the half-hour mark.

Yet despite being a man down, the visitors were by far the more threatening side after the restart. Hakan Calhanoglu almost broke the deadlock with an effort from the half-way line after he spied Roman Bürki too far off his line, but his shot landed on the roof of the net. Karim Bellarabi and Stefan Kießling had presentable chances too, but Bürki reacted well to save each time.

The pendulum swung in Leverkusen’s favour in the closing stages when Freiburg defender Pavel Krmas was sent off, and they very nearly grabbed a late winner when Heung-Min Son rattled the crossbar from a 25-yard free-kick. That was as close as they came though, and both sides had to settle for a point come the final whistle.

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