All the signs were that Erik ten Hag was ready to overcome the frustration of his Bundesliga season opener and go for his first win of 2025/26, but Bayer Leverkusen once again failed to hold on to their lead and ended up conceding a draw to Werder Bremen in a spectacular 3-3 draw at the Weserstadion between two teams that have yet to win.
Just four minutes into the game, all of the two teams' previous strategic plans were canceled out by a fatal flaw in Werder Bremen's passing game. Tella recovered the ball and advanced left-footed to send the ball into the middle of the box until top scorer Patrik Schick emerged from the middle of the opposing defense to finish safely.
The attempt to respond was immediate and Marco Grüll regained possession in attack to hit a right-footed shot that flew past goalkeeper Flekken. The chances were there for both teams, but Leverkusen were more competent and scored their second goal when Álex Grimaldo advanced down the left after Axel Tape had broken the line, leaving the ball for Kofane to cross and Tillman to tap in for a fine goal.
Werder Bremen managed to reduce the impact of the one-sided result after VAR awarded a penalty and Romano Schmid scored. After that, Leverkusen failed to take advantage of Coulibaly's mistake in the build-up, hitting the crossbar. But Erik ten Hag's side scored their third goal early in the second half, with Stark committing a penalty and receiving a second yellow card, while Schick scored with a dig.
Bayer Leverkusen conceded a draw again in the Bundesliga
With a goal from a free-kick and the numerical advantage, we were on course for a Leverkusen victory, but Flekken made a poor clearance outside his area from a throw-in by Topp at the back of the defense, allowing Schmidt to win the one-on-one with a flick of his head to finish into the empty net and leave the score at 3-2.
This goal gave Werder Bremen a lot of courage and Topp almost equalized with a fine turn in the box, which Flekken saved well. But the equalizer seemed inevitable and it only came in injury time, when Leonardo Bittencourt took advantage of a left-footed rebound and fired the ball into the middle for Coulibaly to finish and thrill the Werder Bremen fans. A result that leaves Bayern Munich extremely happy to see that they won't have much of a challenger in the title race.