Havertz's late equalizing spot-kick sees Arsenal snatch victory from Leverkusen | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen came within minutes of an ideal first-leg result in their Champions League last-16 clash with Arsenal this evening. In the end, Robert Andrich's goal was cancelled out by a late Kai Havertz penalty in a 1-1 stalemate.

With the visitors bossing possession in the first quarter of an hour, Leverkusen remained largely unscathed barring Robin Andrich hit with a yellow card for wrestling Viktor Gyökeres to the ground near the penalty box. 

Christian Kofane kept the Arsenal defence honest with his desire, but the London side came within the width of the post from taking the lead. A swift move culminated in Gabriel Martinelli's effort rattling off the aluminum. 

In what would ultimately be a scoreless first half, Leverkusen stuck to their defensive tasks diligently to keep Arsenal's threat at bay. Aside from a couple of speculative Ibrahim Maza efforts, the hosts rarely troubled David Raya. 

If the first-half was perhaps a bit dull, after the break things burst to life in seconds. An in swinging corner from Alejandro Grimaldo to the far post found Andrich. The captain left in acres of space to head in for a 1-0 lead. 

Arsenal struggled to muster much of a reply until the hour mark. A Declan Rice freekick was met by ex-Leverkusen defender Hincapié, but ultimately tricked wide of the post. Shortly after, Noni Madueke replaced a quiet Bukayo Saka.

With less than 20 minutes left on the clock, Arsenal called upon another ex-Bayer star in Kai Havertz. Leverkusen had another fine chance created by Kofane on the break - Aleix Garcia could find the target.

Perhaps almost poetically, Havertz would get his dream return to the BayArena. Tillman wiped out Madueke in the box resulting in a penalty. Up stepped the 26-year-old to squeeze the spot kick past Blaswich's fingers to secure a draw in the Rhineland.