BERLIN, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Bayer Leverkusen squandered a two-goal lead within three minutes after Hoffenheim's Angelo Stiller and Munas Dabbur scored in the closing stages to secure a two-all draw on the road at the 16th round in Bundesliga on Wednesday.
Leverkusen started highly motivated and assumed control from the kick-off as Patrik Schick couldn't control the ball with only Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann to beat in the 2nd minute before Florian Wirtz's goal was ruled offside with 5 minutes gone.
The "Werkself" continued on the front foot and rattled the woodwork through Piero Hincapie at the half-hour mark.
Hoffenheim showed a sign of life in the 35th minute when Chris Richards' header hit the crossbar.
The goal was scored at the other end of the pitch as Leverkusen eventually opened the scoring as Schick unleashed a volley from six meters with 37 minutes played.
The hosts remained active but couldn't beat Baumann despite dangerous efforts from Schick and Wirtz in the closing period of the first half.
After the restart, Hoffenheim took over and should have leveled the scores but for all that Andrej Kramaric wasn't able to slot home from a promising position in the 50th minute.
As the match progressed, Leverkusen gained the upper hand again and made it two in the 63rd minute when Schick reaped his brace after nodding home Hincapie's pinpoint cross.
Hoffenheim responded with frenetic attacks as Kramaric's header struck the bar three minutes later.
The visitors got rewarded for their efforts as Stiller halved the deficit in the 80th minute after beating Lukas Hradecky from a tight angle before Dabbur flabbergasted the hosts three minutes later with a backheel goal from close range.
Things went from bad to worse in the closing stages as Moussa Diaby was sent off for his second bookable offense. Hoffenheim couldn't benefit from its numerical advantage but take a point back home.
With the result, Leverkusen remains third while Hoffenheim continues in fourth in the Bundesliga standings.
Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund secured a 3-0 victory over last-placed Greuther Furth.
Union Berlin shared the spoils with Freiburg following a goalless draw while Augsburg clinched a late 1-1 stalemate with Leipzig. Enditem
