体坛英语新闻：Leverkusen share spoils with Schalke in German Bundesliga

BERLIN, Sep. 29 (Xinhua) -- Bayer Leverkusen's substitute Leon Bailey secured his side a 1-1 draw at Schalke in the opener of the 7th round in Bundesliga on Friday.

The "Werkself" wrapped up their first draw on the road after Leon Bailey's equalizer cancelled out Leon Goretzka's first-half free kick goal.

Both sides staged a slow start into the encounter. Leverkusen controlled the ball but lacked in ideas to produce scoring opportunities whereas the hosts kept all their men behind the ball to lurk for counter attacks.

However, Schalke were able to open the scoring against the run of the play with 34 minutes into the game. Goretzka stepped up for a free kick and curled the ball over the wall into the top right corner.

The hosts pressed for another goal before the break but neither Yevhen Konoplyanka nor Goretzka were able to make the most of their promising chances near the goal area.

Leverkusen coach Heiko Herrlich reacted after the restart and fielded Leon Bailey and Kai Havertz. The visitors increased the pressure meanwhile the "Royal Blues" created another golden chance out of the blue when Goretzka pulled wide from very inside the box following a corner.

The fielding of Bailey paid off in the 61st minute as the youngster midfielder restored parity with a deflected shot from sharp angle to shock the hosts.

Domenico Tedesco's men kept it bowling and produced a couple of chances in the closing period but their efforts remained unrewarded as Leverkusen snatch 1-1 on the road.

With the result, Leverkusen climbed to the 8th place for now, meanwhile Schalke stay on the 7th position of the Bundesliga standings.

The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: Borussia Monchengladbach host newly promoted Hannover, Eintracht Frankfurt encounter Stuttgart, Augsburg face front-runners Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg clash with Mainz and Hamburg see Werder Bremen for the Northern derby.