Heidenheim took their first-ever Bundesliga point against Bayer Leverkusen in the sixth time of asking. The cellar-dwellers showed fighting spirit to salvage a dramatic 3-3 draw against the Champions League chasers.
After a slow start, the visitors took the lead with their first chance of the game at the midpoint of the half. Malik Tillman was left alone in the far post before his close range volley for his fifth Bundesliga strike. Aleix Garcia provided the assist with a pinpoint delivery. Ten minutes before the half-time break, fellow Spaniard Alejandro Grimaldo sets up Patrik Schick 's header for another simple goal for Leverkusen.
Apart from a late chance for Luca Kerber , who has scored both goals in Heidenheim's 4-2 defeat against Hoffenheim , the hosts had very little going for them in the final third. Both coaches made changes for the second-half, and Frank Schmidt's troops showed improvement from the first whistle.
Julian Niehues came very close to scoring four minutes after his introduction following a poor Exequiel Palacios clearance. On his return from a long-serving injury, Mark Flekken was fortunate to see the shot flying past the woodwork. Martin Terrier also went through tough times on the sidelines, and he had to leave the pitch due to another injury ten minutes after entering the game as a half-time substitute.
Heidenheim were back in the game when Hennes Behrens ' cross ended up in the net without any touch in its way through. Diant Ramaj 's valiant effort to push Nathan Tella 's effort into the crossbar maintained their hope to push for an equalizer.
And that seemed to be decisive when Marvin Pieringer calmly converted the penalty-kick he won against Robert Andrich . However, Schick wasn't done at the other end. The Czech Republic striker was goalless since his brace against Olympiacos, and he repeated that feat here for Leverkusen's ninth goal of the season against Heidenheim.
Similar to his first-half goal, the assist did come from Grimaldo as Schick scored his 15th goal in all competitions with another header. However, he's not the only one to end the game with two goals following an end-to-end second-half. Pieringer restored the scoreline with a similar finish to secure a point for Heidenheim.
Although their survival hopes seemed already over, Heidenheim held Champions League hopefuls Stuttgart and Leverkusen to exciting 3-3 draws. Die Werkself are now winless in five games as they will stay four points behind the top four.
