Kevin Volland salvages draw for ten-man Leverkusen against Leipzig

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Ten-man Bayer Leverkusen twice came back from a goal down to earn a deserved 2-2 draw against RB Leipzig in a pulsating contest at the BayArena.

Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 RB Leipzig

Goals: 0-1 Werner (13’, pen.), 1-1 Bailey (44’), 1-2 Forsberg (54’, pen.), 2-2 Volland (74’)

Red card: Henrichs (52')

Leipzig dominated the early stages and were presented with a golden opportunity to open the scoring when Admir Mehmedi conceded a penalty for a foul on Marcel Sabitzer. Timo Werner slotted home the resulting spot-kick for his seventh league goal of the campaign, but the hosts responded well and restored parity just before the interval when Leon Bailey latched onto Dominik Kohr’s exquisite through-ball and finished beyond Peter Gulacsi for his fourth goal in six appearances.

Galvanised by their equaliser late in the first half, Leverkusen flew out of the traps after the break but conceded another penalty when Marcel Sabitzer’s goal-bound effort was handled on the line by half-time substitute Benjamin Henrichs, who was shown a straight red card for his troubles. Emil Forsberg made no mistake from twelve yards but the visitors struggled to press home their numerical advantage, allowing Kevin Volland to volley home with a quarter of an hour remaining to earn Bayer a deserved point.

Man of the match

Jamaica international Bailey is in the form of his life. The 20-year-old notched his fifth goal of the campaign against last season’s runners-up and was a constant thorn in the visitors’ side after half-time with his direct running and teasing crosses.

Match stats

    Volland's second-half equaliser was his seventh goal of the campaign. He has now scored more league goals than he managed in the entirety of last season.Leverkusen have scored more goals through midfielders this season (14) than any other team in Germany's top flight.Dominik Kohr registered his first assist in a Leverkusen shirt, setting up Bailey for the hosts' first equaliser.The game took place a year to the day since Leipzig's 3-2 win at the BayArena on Matchday 11 of last season.

Line-ups

Leverkusen: Leno - Havertz, Tah, L. Bender (c), Wendell - Aranguiz, Kohr (Bellarabi 86'), Mehmedi (Henrichs 46') - Bailey, Volland (Retsos 90+1'), Brandt
Subs: Özcan, Retsos, Alario, Baumgartlinger, Pohjanpalo, Bellarabi, Henrichs
Absentees: S. Bender (broken ribs)
Coach: Heiko Herrlich

Leipzig: Gulacsi - Bernardo, Orban (c) (Upamecano 68'), Konate, Halstenberg - Keita (Augustin 55'), Demme - Kampl, Forsberg (Bruma 84') - Sabitzer, Werner
Subs: Mvogo, Klostermann, Upamecano, Bruma, Poulsen, Augustin
Absentees: Ilsanker (toe)
Coach: Ralph Hasenhüttl

As it happened

Click here for the Leverkusen vs. Leipzig Match Centre!