Leipzig’s Champions League hopes hit by 2-2 draw with lowly Wolfsburg in Bundesliga

BERLIN (AP) — Leipzig’s Champions League hopes took a blow in a 2-2 draw with lowly Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

It could have been worse for the Red Bull-backed club with Brajan Gruda salvaging the draw in the 89th minute and Leipzig goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt saving Christian Eriksen’s effort from the last kick of the game.

“It’s a bitter result for us. We wanted three points,” Gruda said.

Leipzig dropped to fifth, two points behind Stuttgart and just a point above Bayer Leverkusen with 12 rounds remaining. Only the top four qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.

Wolfsburg moved a point above the relegation zone.

Mohamed Amoura broke the deadlock for Wolfsburg early in the second half after Adam Daghim surged past Max Finkgräfe and Nicolas Seiwald before laying the ball back. Amoura fired inside the far post.

The otherwise excellent Wolfsburg goalkeeper Kamil Grabara gifted Leipzig a way back with a kickout that went straight to Gruda, who laid it off for Yan Diomande to equalize in the 70th.

Wolfsburg substitute Mattias Svanberg restored his team’s lead eight minutes later, but Gruda replied in the 89th to salvage a point for Leipzig after its German Cup exit to Bayern Munich.

Leipzig hosts second-place Borussia Dortmund next weekend, when Stuttgart plays bottom side Heidenheim and Leverkusen visits Union Berlin.

A late penalty from Alexis Claude-Maurice was enough for Augsburg to beat Heidenheim 1-0 in Sunday’s early kickoff.

Bayern leads by six points after 22 rounds, but will have to play the next games without injured captain Manuel Neuer, who picked up a calf injury in Saturday’s win over Werder Bremen.

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