CSKA Moscow 1 - 1 Bayer Leverkusen: Bibras Natcho penalty pegs back Bayer Leverkusen in Moscow

Posted Wednesday, November 23, 2016 by PA

Bibras Natcho fired home a late penalty to deny Bayer Leverkusen the chance to put pressure on leaders Monaco in Champions League Group B.

The CSKA Moscow midfielder converted from the spot 15 minutes from time to salvage a 1-1 draw for his side after Kevin Volland had given the Germans a 15th-minute lead.

The result means the Russians cannot now qualify for the knockout stages of the competition and must focus instead on chasing third place and a Europa League slot.

Volland fired the opener past Igor Akinfeev as the visitors looked to claim a victory which would have at least temporarily saw them overhaul Monaco and take first place in the group.

But the home side responded well with Aleksandr Golovin and Alan Dzagoev both missing excellent opportunities to drag their side back onto level terms.

Omer Toprak thought he had extended Leverkusen's lead in the 38th minute when he shot home only for his effort to be disallowed because Javier Hernandez was ruled offside.

Hakan Calhanoglu also came close to turning home a Volland free-kick in first-half stoppage time as the visitors ended the opening period looking good value for three valuable points.

Golovin came close again and Dzagoev saw a shot well saved low by German keeper Bernd Leno as the hosts showed plenty of warning that they were not willing to give up without a fight.

Leno did even better to prevent a Golovin effort squirming through his legs before CSKA got the chance they deserved when Mario Fernandes was brought down by Benjamin Henrichs in the Leverkusen box.

Natcho slid the resulting penalty beyond the reach of Leno and the equaliser prompted another wave of pressure from the hosts, with Dzagoev inches from putting his side in front before being ruled narrowly offside.

Dzagoev also whizzed a shot past Leno's left-hand post and Fedor Chalov just missed with the last chance of the game as the visitors were left feeling grateful to have hung on for a point.