Leverkusen held at Bremen

Ten-man Bayer Leverkusen stayed second in the Bundesliga yesterday despite being held to a 2-2 draw at Werder Bremen.

Goals either side of half-time by Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok and ex-Germany midfielder Simon Rolfes put Leverkusen in control in Bremen.

But the hosts hit back in the last 10 minutes as they poured forward only for Leverkusen’s Stefan Kiessling to turn the ball into his own net on 83 minutes, just before Leverkusen were reduced to ten men.

Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal was shown a second yellow card, and the subsequent red, on 87 minutes then Austria defender Sebastian Proedl scored the crucial equaliser in the 91st minute to complete the fightback.

“We fought for our luck, because we never gave up and we were rewarded,” said Proedl.

“After a game like that, a draw is okay. A victory wasn’t deserved.”

The draw leaves Leverkusen now 12 points behind runaway leaders Dortmund with defending champions Bayern fourth.

The single point lifts Bremen out of the bottom three while Kaiserslautern, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Hamburg on Saturday, drop into the relegation zone.