Leverkusen lead does not last long as PSV hold them to draw

LEVERKUSEN, Germany :PSV Eindhoven fought back quickly after conceding a sloppy goal to hold German hosts Bayer Leverkusen to a 1-1 draw in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Calamitous defending from the Dutch visitors allowed teenager Christian Kofane to pinch a 65th-minute goal at the Bay Arena but PSV were quick to pull level, with Ismael Saibari thundering home a 72nd-minute equaliser.

It was a second draw for Leverkusen in the group phase, after being held at Copenhagen, while PSV picked up their first point following a surprise home loss to Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise in their opening fixture last month.

A defensive mix-up in their own penalty area saw captain Jerdy Schouten play a dangerous back pass to centre-back Armando Obispo, who failed to control it and offered the 19-year-old Kofane an opportunity to dispossess him and score from close range on his first Champions League start.

But the lead lasted all of seven minutes before Guus Til’s pull-back pass found Saibari in space and he did not hesitate as he unleashed a thunderbolt from close range to make it 1-1.

"There's disappointment, because I think we could have done better," Saibari said. "We kept coming out from under pressure, especially in the second half. Leverkusen also played well, so I think the 1-1 draw was a fair result."

PSV had the ball in Leverkusen’s net after four minutes when veteran Croatian international Ivan Perisic rose at the back post to head home Dennis Man’s cross, but a VAR check found Perisic was marginally offside and the goal was overturned.

It was an early signal that the Dutch champions would prove a handful, although it was Leverkusen who then dominated matters in the first half, with Alejandro Grimaldo rattling the woodwork from