Cologne and Leverkusen draw in Bundesliga
BERLIN - Bayer Leverkusen missed the chance to go second in the Bundesliga table after a 2-2 draw at Cologne on Sunday.
Cologne's Anthony Modeste scored a second-half brace to ensure a share of the spoils.
Leverkusen made a bright start into the Rhine derby and looked dangerous on the counterattack against a cautious Cologne side.
It was one such counter that broke the deadlock for Leverkusen as Robert Andrich intercepted Modeste's pass before releasing Moussa Diaby, who allowed Patrik Schick to slot home with 15 minutes gone.
Andrich remained a factor and had a large share in Leverkusen's second goal, setting up for Karim Bellarabi who made it 2-0 two minutes later.
The Werkself had the chance to make it three, but Jonathan Tah's dangerous header rattled the woodwork at the half-hour mark.
After the restart, Cologne took over and pressed Leverkusen onto the back foot. The visitors were still a menace on fast breaks but neither Schick nor Florian Wirtz was able to put the game to bed despite promising chances.
Cologne then punished Leverkusen for their wastefulness on the hour mark as Tah misjudged a cross from Jonas Hector before Modeste clinically tapped home to halve the deficit.
The Billy Goats gained momentum and shocked Leverkusen in the 82nd minute when Modeste took advantage of a flicked-on throw-in from Sebastian Andersson and scored his second.
"We invited Leverkusen in the first half. We are making it easy for our opponents once again. I am, however, impressed by how the boys rallied back into the game. In the end, it is a deserved draw," said Cologne head coach Steffen Baumgart.
"It was two completely different halves. In the first half, we created dangerous opportunities but because of the second half, it was deserved that Cologne secured a draw," said Leverkusen head coach Gerardo Seoane.
With the result, Bayer Leverkusen slip to fourth, while Cologne slump to eighth spot in the Bundesliga table.
Elsewhere, 10-man Stuttgart flabbergasted Union Berlin with a last-gasp equalizer by Wahid Faghir, who clinched the Swabians a draw on home soil, and Eintracht Frankfurt suffered its second straight loss after newly-promoted Bochum snatched a 2-0 win courtesy of goals from Danny Blum and Sebastian Polter.
