Battling Werkself impress in 1-1 draw with Arsenal

Head coach Kasper Hjulmand made one change to the starting eleven for the first leg in the UCL Round of 16 tie compared to the 3-3 draw at SC Freiburg: Exequiel Palacios started in place of Ezequiel Fernández in holding midfield. Christian Kofane started in Freiburg and, at 19 years and 228 days, is now the second-youngest player to start for Bayer 04 in a Champions League knockout tie after Kai Havertz. The former Leverkusen man was initially on the bench and he saw his team-mate Eberechi Eze put the first Arsenal free-kick (3’) wide of the target. Kofane had the first effort on goal for the Black and Reds but his long-range shot landed in the arms of visiting keeper David Raya (7’).

woodwork rescues the Werkself

Bayer 04 were focussed from the start, initially allowing the Gunners more of the ball and trying to switch quickly. As in minute 16, when a shot from Ibrahim Maza went over the net. However, the English side came closer to scoring first through Gabriel Martinelli, who hit the crossbar from an acute angle shortly afterwards (20'). As the game wore on, a determined Werkself XI had more and more of the game and made it difficult for Arsenal to create chances. However, despite promising counter-attacks via the industrious Maza and Palacios, they lacked the precision needed to create a goal threat. The score remained 0-0 going into half-time.

Andrich scores with a header – Havertz levels late on

Bayer 04 started the second half as strongly as Hjulmand's team had finished the first: Just seconds after the restart Martin Terrier failed to beat Raya with his head. From the ensuing corner, Alejandro Grimaldo found Robert Andrich at the far post and his header gave the Gunners keeper no chance (46'). The Werkself were ahead - and deservedly so. The visitors, who were trailing for the first time in the current UCL campaign, continued to struggle against Leverkusen's well-organised defence. The Black and Reds, on the other hand, repeatedly managed to relieve the pressure by attacking. Bayer 04 were able to keep the Gunners away from their own goal until late on but the lead did not last until the final whistle: Kai Havertz converted a penalty for the visitors to level on 89 minutes.

next up: second leg after Bayern munich game

The Werkself top-flight campaign continues on Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET) when Bayern Munich visit the BayArena on Bundesliga matchday 26. Bayer 04 will then travel to London for the second leg of the Round of 16 tie with Arsenal with the match on Tuesday, 17 March (kick-off: 21:00 CET).

Match stats:

Bayer 04: Blaswich - Quansah, Andrich, Tapsoba - Poku, Palacios (Fernández 81’), Garcia, Grimaldo - Terrier (Hofmann 81’), Maza (Tillman 74’) - Kofane

Arsenal: Raya - Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie - Rice, Zubimendi - Saka (Madueke 60’), Eze (Jesus 81’), Martinelli - Gyökeres (Havertz 74’)

Yellow cards: Andrich, Poku, Palacios, Grimaldo - Martinelli, Zubimendi, Havertz

Goals: 1-0 Andrich (46'), 1-1 Havertz (89' pen.)

Referee: Umut Meler (Turkey)

Attendance: 30,210 (sold out) at the BayArena