Haris Tabakovic struck late to earn Borussia Monchengladbach a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen, frustrating Kasper Hjulmand’s bid for back-to-back Bundesliga victories.
The Danish coach, still unbeaten in his opening three matches across all competitions since succeeding Erik ten Hag, looked on course for another win after Malick Tillman’s second-half opener. But his side were pegged back in the closing stages.
Patrik Schick almost gave Leverkusen an early lead, powering a header on target from a free-kick only for Moritz Nicolas to parry smartly with his legs.
Gladbach responded well, and Jens Castrope thought he had fired them in front midway through the first half, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
Joe Scally then went close on the stroke of half-time, breaking clear between two defenders before forcing Mark Flekken into a sharp save.
After the restart, Kevin Stoger dragged a promising effort wide, and the miss proved costly when Tillman broke the deadlock in the 70th minute, his deflected strike nestling in the net after Schick’s mis-hit attempt.
Ibrahim Maza tested Nicolas with a tight-angled shot soon after, but the Gladbach goalkeeper kept his side alive and his intervention proved decisive. With time running out, Tabakovic met Charles Herrmann’s corner with a towering header, giving Flekken no chance and sealing a point for the visitors.
Leverkusen have made a habit of rescuing games late under Xabi Alonso, but this time it was their turn to suffer a stoppage setback.
They have now let slip seven points from winning positions in the Bundesliga this season — more than any other team.
Gladbach remain without a league victory in their last 12 meetings with the Werkself (D3 L9), but they finally ended their goal drought, scoring for the first time this campaign after a barren run of five matches.
Both sides finished with 13 shots apiece, though Leverkusen’s return fell short of their 1.58 expected goals.
