Quansah rescues Leverkusen late after Becker’s opener for Mainz

Bayer 04 Leverkusen endured another frustrating afternoon in front of goal as they were held by 1. FSV Mainz 05 in a drab Bundesliga encounter that rarely rose above walking pace. One good counter attack from Mainz was almost enough to steal three points out of Leverkusen, but a late goal from one of Leverkusen's centre-back finally ended the host's goal drought and rescued a point. Here is our detailed match report:

Match report

Both sides arrived with attacking concerns. Leverkusen had failed to score in recent outings against Olympiacos and Union Berlin, while Mainz were without the injured Nadiem Amiri, who picked up a knock on Thursday. His absence was telling, stripping the visitors of much-needed creativity and goal threat.

The opening 45 minutes offered little in the way of excitement from a neutral point of view. Possession was largely sterile, the tempo pedestrian, and clear-cut chances non-existent for long stretches.

It took until the 37th minute for the first shot on target by the home team, when Patrik Schick rose highest to meet a cross with a header that forced a routine save. It summed up the half: hopeful rather than incisive.

Just before the break, there was finally a flicker of drama. Jarell Quansah’s shot struck the elbow of Potulski inside the box, and the referee initially pointed to the spot. However, VAR intervened to reveal an offside position by a Leverkusen player in the build-up, and the penalty was overturned.

To make matters worse for the hosts, Arthur was forced off shortly before half-time with a knee injury, adding to Leverkusen’s mounting frustrations.

Mainz, meanwhile, offered little going forward. Without Amiri’s dynamism and eye for goal, their attacking play lacked conviction. The visitors were compact and disciplined but rarely looked capable of troubling Leverkusen’s defence.

The second half followed a similar script, with one big exemption: one of Mainz's counter attacks finally worked! Goalkeeper Batz sent Nebel on his way on the right hand side, who then crossed to Sheraldo Becker in the middle of the box: he tried his luck with a direct volley shot and found the back of the net! 1-0 to the guests.

It was difficult to tell if this lead was a deserved one, as Mainz did not do more for the game than Leverkusen. They tried to change the outcome of the game by subbing in creativity (Maza) and directness (Terrier) - and it somewhat worked for the first few minutes, as both were involved in some promising attacks.

Leverkusen finally found a way past Batz: Quansah, who was very involved in Bayer's attacks on this day, sprinted into the box and a simple pass led to the Englishman scoring late on for the hosts. That was the final action of the game - Leverkusen's goalless run is finally broken.

 Full time: Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Mainz 05.