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Leverkusen grab late leveler at Augsburg after Lomb's howler

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Berlin, Feb 21, 2021 (AFP) - Hosts Augsburg were denied a first win over Bayer Leverkusen at the 20th attempt by a last-gasp equaliser from Burkina Faso defender Edmond Tapsoba as the visitors snatched a 1-1 draw on Sunday in the Bundesliga.

Augsburg were 1-0 up at home deep into added time at home when Leverkusen defender Tapsoba was left unmarked to convert a cross seconds before the whistle.

Leverkusen needed the late equaliser because their back-up goalkeeper Niklas Lomb had gifted Augsburg an early freak goal.

Five minutes into his first league start this season, Lomb completely mistimed his clearance kick.

The ball rolled to Augsburg striker Florian Niederlechner, who tapped the ball into the empty net.

"The fact that I messed up like that really annoys me," Lomb told broadcaster DAZN.

"The lads told me afterwards that it can happen, that we are a team.

"They wanted to help me and then they did it with the equaliser," he added.

Lomb's early mistake rattled Leverkusen who struggled to impose themselves until Tapsoba's late equaliser.

With Augsburg gaining in confidence, Niederlechner briefly won a penalty just after the break following a tap on his ankle from Leverkusen's ex-Manchester United defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah.

However, the VAR spotted Augsburg winger Ruben Vargas offside in the build up and the spot kick was reversed.

With time running out, Leverkusen equalised just before the final whistle when former Leicester City winger Demarai Gray whipped in a corner which Tapsoba drilled home.

After losing six of their nine league games since the start of the year, the result leaves Augsburg in 13th place.

The rescued point leaves Leverkusen fifth in the table, 12 points behind leaders Bayern Munich, who crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

Bayern's lead at the top can be cut to two points if second-placed RB Leipzig win at Hertha Berlin later on Sunday.

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