Late own goal salvages hard-fought point for Leverkusen in Copenhagen | OneFootball

PARKEN, COPENHAGEN (Bulinews): A late own goal salvaged a point for Bayer Leverkusen, as Die Werkself drew 2-2 with FC Copenhagen in their Champions League opener on Thursday evening.

The German visitors began the game passing the ball confidently around, but were hit by an early shock, as they fell behind after just nine minutes.

A searching ball was played in behind for Elias Achouri, who just managed to keep it in play on the left. His sharp low cross picked out Jordan Larsson, whose intelligent run from the opposite flank was rewarded as he coolly finished into the back of the net.

Leverkusen dominated possession, but struggled to find a response, with their only notable effort in the first period of the game coming from an Alejandro Grimaldo free-kick after 21 minutes. However, the Spanish left-back failed to trouble the target on this occasion.

Content to sit deep after their early lead, Copenhagen looked dangerous on the counter and nearly doubled their advantage five minutes before the break. Mohamed Elyounoussi was sent racing in behind the defence and hit the crossbar with a chipped ball.

A few minutes later, the Danish hosts should have made it 2-0. Former Borussia Dortmund prospect Youssoufa Moukoko found himself completely free in front of goal, but Mark Flekken produced a stunning reflex stop to keep Leverkusen one goal down heading into half-time.

Copenhagen picked up where they had left off after the restart, with Jordan Larsson immediately forcing Mark Flekken into action with a strike from the edge of the box.

Just before the hour mark, the Leverkusen goalkeeper was tested again, this time reacting well to prevent Lukas Lerager’s cross-shot from dropping into the goal.

At the other end, Leverkusen created a rare opportunity moments later. Cutting inside from the flank, Eliesse Ben Seghir unleashed a powerful effort that flashed just wide of the target.

Leverkusen threatened again in the 66th minute when the ball reached Patrik Schick inside the area, but the striker's effort was dealt with by Copenhagen goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski.

Kotarski was called into action once more eight minutes later when second-half substitute Claudio Echeverri weaved cleverly through the box and got a shot away, only to be denied by the alert shot-stopper.

Copenhagen immediately responded at the other end, with Rodrigo Huescas finding space for an effort, but Mark Flekken was equal to it.

With time starting to run out for Leverkusen, they were awarded a free-kick at the edge of the area with 82 minutes played. And just like against Frankfurt last week, Alejandro Grimaldo stepped up and curled an unstoppable effort into the top corner.

Grimaldo's goal sent Leverkusen in search of a late winner, but instead they were stunned by another goal from the hosts. A slick move carved open the defence, and second-half substitute Robert restored Copenhagen’s advantage with only a few minutes left on the clock.

The Danish side looked poised for an upset, but Leverkusen refused to give up. As the game went into injury time, Claudio Echeverri’s strike deflected off Pantelis Hatzidiakos and went into the net, salvaging a 2-2 draw for Die Werkself in dramatic fashion.