Players of Mainz celebrates scoring during a German Bundesliga football match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FSV Mainz 05 in Leverkusen, Germany, Feb. 13, 2021. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
BERLIN, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Bayer Leverkusen squandered a 2-0 lead after Robert Glatzel and Kevin Stoger were on target late to clinch Mainz a vital point in the relegation battle in the 21st round in Bundesliga on Saturday.
The Werkself started highly motivated and aggressive on home soil against relegation-threatened Mainz.
Leverkusen's power play in the opening stages was rewarded with 14 minutes played when Moussa Diaby nutmegged Mainz' Danny da Costa before racing down the left wing and squaring the ball to Lucas Alario, who made no mistake to tap home Diaby's good build-up work from very close range.
Mainz responded well and came close but Karim Onisiwo's header rattled the post one minute later.
As the match progressed, Leverkusen took over and pressed Mainz into its own territory. Nevertheless, Leon Bailey, Kerem Demirbay, and Diaby were all unable to beat Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner with long-range efforts.
Leverkusen should have doubled its lead before halftime but Diaby's header was denied by the crossbar while Mainz' Moussa Niakhate blocked Demibay's shot on the goal line.
After the restart, Mainz got a foothold from the get-go and created good opportunities as Leverkusen substitute custodian Niklas Lomb had to be on guard to deny Onisiwo before Leandro Barreiro pulled wide from a promising position.
It was only Mainz in the second half as Onisiwo tested Lomb again while Niakhate's goal was canceled due to a handball in the 71st minute.
Three minutes later, another goal was disallowed due to a handball but this time at the other end of the pitch for Demarai Grey.
The Werkself eventually thought they had sealed the deal in the 84th minute when Gray's pass allowed Patrik Schick to nutmeg Zentner for the 2-0 lead from a tight angle.
Mainz remained unimpressed though and halved the deficit five minutes later when Niakhate passed into the path of Glatzel, who kept his nerves to beat Lomb.
To make things worse for Leverkusen, Mainz wasn't done with the scoring and restored parity in the dying seconds of the game when Sven Bender blocked a long cross into the way of Stoger, who snatched a crucial point for Mainz.
With the result, Leverkusen move to fourth place for now meanwhile Mainz stay in 17th spot, four points from safety.
Elsewhere, Erling Haaland's late equalizer helped Borussia Dortmund to avoid a defeat in a 2-2 draw with Hoffenheim.
Youngster Luca Netz canceled out Stuttgart's opener through Sasa Kalajdzic to ensure Hertha Berlin a 1-1 draw.
Werder Bremen shared the spoils with Freiburg following a 0-0 draw and last placed Schalke reaped a point after playing out a goalless tie at Union Berlin.
On Sunday, Eintracht Frankfurt take on Cologne and third placed Wolfsburg clash with Borussia Monchengladbach. Enditem
