LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY — Jarell Quansah's 88th-minute equalizer spared Bayer Leverkusen's blushes as the hosts clawed back a 1-1 draw against a resolute Mainz side at BayArena. Sheraldo Becker had given the visitors a shock lead on the counter in the 67th minute, and for long, agonizing stretches it appeared Mainz would pull off one of the results of the Bundesliga season. Leverkusen dominated the ball with 66.3% possession, pinning Mainz back for long stretches, but found goalkeeper Daniel Batz in inspired form throughout.
From the opening whistle, Leverkusen set the tempo. Jonas Hofmann tested Batz as early as the 4th minute, his right-footed drive from outside the box comfortably gathered by the Mainz stopper. The hosts were clearly intent on making their territorial advantage count, and Patrik Schick — a constant menace through the first half — forced another fine stop from Batz in the 37th minute, the goalkeeper pushing away a well-struck effort from the centre of the box that had been teed up by Alejandro Grimaldo. Leverkusen pressed and probed, but Mainz's defensive discipline held firm, and the two sides went into the break level at 0-0.
The second half brought more of the same Leverkusen pressure, with Xabi Alonso's side peppering the Mainz goal. Batz was called into action again in the 63rd minute, this time denying Schick with a sharp stop to the bottom left corner after Martin Terrier — introduced from the bench in the 59th minute — had played the Czech striker through. Leverkusen were knocking loudly, but the door refused to open.
Then came the sucker punch. In the 67th minute, Mainz broke with devastating efficiency. Paul Nebel delivered a precise cross from the right following a rapid counter-attack, and Sheraldo Becker arrived at the far post to drill a right-footed finish into the bottom left corner past Janis Blaswich. It was a goal of clinical simplicity, and it sent the traveling Mainz support into raptures. Becker was immediately replaced by Silas Katompa Mvumpa in the 69th minute, his job done. Phillip Tietz then came close to doubling the lead in the 73rd minute, only for Blaswich to smother his left-footed effort from the centre of the box — a crucial intervention that kept Leverkusen in the contest.
The BayArena crowd, growing increasingly anxious, willed their side forward. Leverkusen threw bodies forward, and the pressure finally told two minutes from time. Christian Kofane — himself a substitute — burst forward on a fast break and found Quansah in the centre of the box. The defender, not known for his goalscoring exploits, swept a composed left-footed finish into the bottom left corner to make it 1-1 and send the stadium into relief-fuelled delirium. In the frantic closing minutes, Terrier had a chance to steal all three points in the 90th-plus-fifth minute, but Batz — magnificent throughout — denied him once more from close range, capping a heroic individual display.
The numbers told the story of Leverkusen's dominance and Mainz's defiance. Leverkusen registered 12 shots to Mainz's eight, with five on target to the visitors' four. Batz made four saves — several of them outstanding — while Blaswich was called upon three times. Leverkusen won six corners to Mainz's two, and Mainz committed 13 fouls to Leverkusen's nine, reflecting the visitors' willingness to disrupt. Three yellow cards were distributed across the evening, with Edmond Tapsoba and Stefan Posch both booked in a feisty 66th-minute exchange, and Lennard Maloney cautioned late on.
The stalemate leaves Leverkusen in sixth place with 41 points, a result that will feel more like a defeat given their dominance. For Mainz, sitting 14th with 24 points, a point on the road against a side of Leverkusen's quality is no small thing — though the manner of the equalizer will sting.
Both sides return to action on March 7: Leverkusen travel to face SC Freiburg, while Mainz make the trip to VfB Stuttgart — two fixtures that could prove pivotal in the second half of the Bundesliga season.