Football
ESPN staff 7y

Schalke hold RB Leipzig to draw as Freiburg maintain Europe hopes

RB Leipzig failed to take full advantage of Bayern Munich's home draw with Mainz on Saturday as they were held 1-1 at Schalke.

A win would have put Ralph Hasenhuttl's side six points behind the defending champions, and looked on the cards when they created a string of early chances, going close through Emil Forsberg before Timo Werner scored after 14 minutes.

Schalke, for whom a draw maintained their cushion to the relegation playoff place, had started poorly and struggled to keep possession but were level moments after the break when Klaas-Jan Huntelaar headed home.

Leipzig could have grabbed a late winner, but Holger Badstuber made a fine clearance to scramble the ball away from his own goalline.

Freiburg scored an 88th-minute winner as they beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 to boost their hopes of securing European football next season.

Home side Freiburg started at a fast pace and took the lead after only 11 minutes when striker Nils Petersen fired beyond goalkeeper Bernd Leno's reach.

Petersen could have added another soon afterwards, but Leverkusen found an equaliser on the hour mark when Kevin Volland converted a penalty.

Freiburg were not finished and continued to push for a winner -- and they found it with time running out as Pascal Stenzel fired home and put his side back into the Bundesliga's top six.

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