BERLIN: Bayer Leverkusen came from behind twice but gave up the lead late to draw 3-3 at Freiburg on Saturday, days out from their Champions League clash with Arsenal.
Leverkusen host the Champions League favorites on Wednesday in the first leg of their last-16 tie but Saturday’s wild draw may hurt their chances of reaching next year’s competition.
The result leaves Leverkusen sixth, losing ground on top-four rivals Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig, who both won on Saturday.
Freiburg twice went ahead thanks to goals from Vincenzo Grifo and Yuito Suzuki but Leverkusen twice equalized through Christian Kofane and another superb free-kick from Alejandro Grimaldo.
Martin Terrier’s goal had the visitors on track for victory but Matthias Ginter struck with four minutes remaining to level things up.
Elsewhere, RB Leipzig also looked set to drop points in the top-four race but forced Augsburg’s Arthur Chaves into a stoppage-time own goal in a comeback 2-1 home win.
Robin Fellhauer gave Augsburg the lead after teammate Keven Schlotterbeck missed a penalty but Yan Diomande pulled one back for the hosts before Chaves scuffed a David Raum cross into his own net.
Leipzig’s win took them to fifth, level on points with fourth-placed Stuttgart, who drew 2-2 at lowly Mainz.
Stuttgart fell behind to a Jae-Sung Lee strike but looked to have turned the match with goals to Ermedin Demirovic and Deniz Undav inside 61 seconds, before Danny da Costa nabbed a late equalizer for the hosts.
Hoffenheim took a step toward a second ever Champions League qualification with a 4-2 win at last-placed Heidenheim to stay in outright third.
Alexander Prass bagged a first-half brace and Fisnik Asllani and Tim Lemperle scored for the visitors, while Luca Kerber scored a double for Heidenheim.
Elsewhere, Hamburg came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Wolfsburg, with all three goals coming from the penalty spot.
The defeat pushes second-last Wolfsburg, who were German champions in 2009, closer to a first-ever relegation
Later on Saturday, second-placed Borussia Dortmund can restore a six-point lead Hoffenheim with a win at Cologne.
Leverkusen held at Freiburg before Arsenal clash
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Leverkusen held at Freiburg before Arsenal clash
- Leverkusen host the Champions League favorites on Wednesday in the first leg of their last-16 tie
- The result leaves Leverkusen sixth, losing ground on top-four rivals Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig
Champions League: Barcelona travels to Newcastle as round of 16 gets underway
- Spanish champions travel to St. James’ Park for the first leg, with coach Hansi Flick leaving his players in no doubt about what’s at stake
Barcelona faces Newcastle as the Champions League round of 16 gets underway on Tuesday.
The Spanish champions travel to St. James’ Park for the first leg, with coach Hansi Flick leaving his players in no doubt about what’s at stake.
“It’s one of the most important moments of the season and we are all ready for it,” he said.
Five-time European champion Barcelona hasn’t won the Champions League since 2015 and has had to watch on as its fiercest rival Real Madrid has dominated the competition.
Flick delivered the Spanish title last season, but his team was knocked out of the Champions League at the semifinals stage. He is aiming to improve on that this time around.
“What I can say is everything here in Barcelona is great,” he said. “I’m here 1 1-2 years and I’m enjoying every single day working with this fantastic team, with these fantastic players, with this staff around.
“Now we are building this club also for the future. This is what we want to do.”
Liverpool travels to Galatasaray on Tuesday and Bayern Munich is away to Atalanta.
Atletico Madrid hosts a Tottenham team that is fighting to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
