Leverkusen snatch late point at home to Frankfurt
Leverkusen - Karim Bellarabi rescued a late point for Bayer 04 Leverkusen at home to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Meier on the spot, Bellarabi strikes late
The visitors looked the likely winners after leading goalscorer Alexander Meier had given them the lead with a 37th-minute penalty, but a dominant Leverkusen side fought back to secure a point eight minutes from time.
Leverkusen started promisingly and enjoyed the lion's share of possession in the opening stages, although chances were proving extremely difficult to come by for the hosts against a deep-lying Eintracht defence. Hoping to beat their hosts on the break, Frankfurt gave Bayer keeper Bernd Leno a first serious warning 28 minutes in through Lucas Piazon's long-range effort. The visitors took the lead nine minutes later when Meier slotted in his 13th goal of the season from the penalty spot after Takashi Inui had been fouled inside the box by Tin Jedvaj.
Bayer emerged for the second half in positive spirits, upping the pressure in an attempt to find a way past the guests' solid back-four. Bellarabi fired an effort wide on the hour mark before Heung-Min Son twice came close to finding an equaliser, his 14-yard effort flying past the right post before Alexander Madlung did brilliantly to deny the South Korean once more. Frankfurt, meanwhile, weren't without their chances, Bastian Okzipka and Inui both going close on counterattacks, but Bellarabi eventually brought his side level with a fine strike from the edge of the box to rescue a deserved point for Leverkusen.
Line-ups and statistics
