Soccer Football - Champions League - Brest v Bayer Leverkusen - Stade du Roudourou, Guingamp, France - October 23, 2024 Brest's Brendan Chardonnet in action with Bayer Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
GUINGAMP, France (Reuters) -Brest and Bayer Leverkusen played out a 1-1 draw in the Champions League on Wednesday which ended both teams' two-game winning starts to the competition.
The German champions took early control and were rewarded with a 24th-minute lead when man-of-the-match Florian Wirtz completed a superb passing move with a low finish.
Leverkusen were without striker Victor Boniface, who is recovering from a car crash he was involved in as a passenger on Sunday. The Nigeria international suffered only minor injuries to his hand and foot.
"A Champions League away game, you could say you are ok with a point," said Leverkusen midfielder Jonas Hofmann. "We lost possession too quickly in the second half and Brest got more hope that there was something for them to get out of it."
Champions League newcomers, Brest have shown remarkable ability to adapt to the demands of Europe's premier club competition, and were again effective against Leverkusen as they successfully soaked up pressure for much of the first half.
Brest's 39th-minute equaliser was even more spectacular than the Leverkusen goal, with 31-year-old Pierre Lees-Melou powering home a sumptuous volley from the edge of the box to score on his maiden Champions League appearance.
Lees-Melou became the second oldest French player to net on his debut in the competition.
"I think a lot of people thought we were going to be on the end of a hammering before kickoff, but we certainly didn’t embarrass ourselves," said Lees-Melou, who had made his first start in six months last week against Rennes.
"It proves that we’re a team that has heart, that plays together. During the first half, they didn’t have too many opportunities. We managed to add a little bit more dynamism into our play in the second half," he said.
The French hosts were lucky not to concede a penalty for handball following a VAR review and Massadio Haidara almost turned a Wirtz cutback into his own goal.
Leverkusen then had Amine Adli, who had come on as a 63rd- minute substitute, taken off injured with a suspected ankle injury as the game got rougher, and the visitors' coach Xabi Alonso was booked for dissent.
Both teams are on seven points from three matches, two behind leaders Aston Villa.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)
