BERLIN (AP) — Leipzig, which had hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, suffered a blow on Sunday with a 2-2 draw with bottom-placed Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.
Things could have been much worse for the Red Bull-backed club as Brajan Gruda rescued a draw in the 89th minute and Leipzig goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoort saved Christian Eriksen’s shot from the final kick of the match.
Coach Gruda said, “It’s a bitter result for us. We wanted three points.”
With 12 matches remaining, Leipzig has fallen to fifth place, two points behind Stuttgart and just one point behind Bayer Leverkusen. Only the top four teams qualify for Europe’s top club competition.
Wolfsburg moved one point above the relegation zone.
It was Mohamed Amoula who broke Wolfsburg’s deadlock early in the second half, when Adam Daghim crossed the ball between Max Finkgraeve and Nicola Seiwald. Amoura took a shot inside the far post.
Wolfsburg’s excellent goalkeeper Kamil Grabara gave Leipzig a kick-out that gave Gruda a direct goal, and Yann Diomande equalized in the 70th minute.
Wolfsburg substitute Matthias Schwanberg restored his team’s lead eight minutes later, but Gruda hit back in the 89th minute to restore a point to Leipzig, who lost to Bayern Munich in the German Cup.
Next weekend, Leipzig will host second-place Borussia Dortmund, Stuttgart will play bottom-place Heidenheim, and Leverkusen will visit Union Berlin.
Alexis Claude-Maurice’s late penalty was enough for Augsburg to beat Heidenheim 1-0 in Sunday’s early kick-off.
Bayern are leading by six points after 22 matches, but will have to play without injured captain Manuel Neuer in the next game. injured the calf on saturday Win against Werder Bremen.
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