BREMEN, Germany -Bayer Leverkusen wasted a two-goal lead and conceded a stoppage time equaliser to settle for a 3-3 draw at Werder Bremen on Saturday but they still stretched their Bundesliga unbeaten record in away games to 35 consecutive matches.
Werder's Karim Coulibaly snatched a point for the 10-man hosts after Leverkusen had led 2-0 and 3-1.
The visitors, who did not lose any away match in the previous two Bundesliga seasons,lost their opener at home last week, in Dutch coach Erik ten Hag's league debut.
The coach took over from Xabi Alonso, who led them to a domestic league and Cup double in 2024, and amid a complete squad overhaul following the departure of more than half a dozen key players, including keeper Lukas Hradecky, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, Jonathan Tah and Granit Xhaka.
Leverkusen took an unexpected lead when Nathan Tella intercepted a weak Werder back pass and cut back for Patrik Schick to drill in.
They doubled it through new signing Malik Tillman's shot that went in off the post in the 35th before Werder pulled a goal a minute before the break with Romano Schmid.
Leverkusen struck againin the 64th thanks to Schick's well-taken penalty which had left Werder with 10 players following the dismissal with a second booking of Niklas Stark. Werder set up a nail-biting finale when Isaac Schmidt scored in an empty goal in the 76th after Leverkusen keeper Mark Flekken's miscalculated exit.
Coulibaly then completed their two-goal comeback with a late equaliser in stoppage time.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
