Leverkusen Draw 3-3 with Freiburg Prior to Arsenal Match

Bayer Leverkusen twice came from behind yet surrendered their advantage late on, resulting in a 3-3 stalemate against Freiburg on Saturday, just days before their Champions League showdown with Arsenal.

Leverkusen will welcome the Champions League frontrunners on Wednesday for the opening leg of their last-sixteen encounter, but the chaotic draw from Saturday could jeopardise their prospects of qualifying for next seasons competition.

This outcome positions Leverkusen in sixth place, slipping further behind the top-four contenders Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig, both of whom secured victories on Saturday.

"We are more than a bit let down," Leverkusen manager Robert Andrich remarked to Sky Germany. "From Sunday onwards, our attention will switch to Arsenal, though we require many more points in the Bundesliga to secure Champions League qualification again."

Freiburg led on two occasions courtesy of strikes from Vincenzo Grifo and Yuito Suzuki, only for Leverkusen to respond each time via Christian Kofane and a stunning free-kick by Alejandro Grimaldo.

Martin Terriers effort appeared to steer the away side towards triumph, yet Matthias Ginter equalised with four minutes left to play.

In other action, RB Leipzig seemed poised to forfeit ground in the battle for the top four but managed a late own goal from Augsburgs Arthur Chaves in stoppage time, clinching a 2-1 turnaround victory at home.

Robin Fellhauer put Augsburg ahead following a missed penalty by teammate Keven Schlotterbeck, but Yan Diomande responded for the home team before Chaves inadvertently directed a David Raum delivery into his own goal.

Leipzigs success elevated them to fifth, matching points with fourth-placed Stuttgart, who shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw away to struggling Mainz.

Stuttgart trailed after a goal from Jae-Sung Lee yet appeared to have seized control with efforts from Ermedin Demirovic and Deniz Undav within 61 seconds, until Danny da Costa found a late leveller for the home side.

Hoffenheim edged closer to a second Champions League spot by defeating bottom-of-the-table Heidenheim 4-2, maintaining their hold on third place outright.

Alexander Prass notched a pair in the first half, with Fisnik Asllani and Tim Lemperle adding further goals for the away team, while Luca Kerber claimed a brace for Heidenheim.

In addition, Hamburg overturned a one-goal deficit to triumph 2-1 at Wolfsburg, with every goal originating from penalty kicks.

Disgruntled supporters hurled burning scarves onto the field following the loss, which drags second-bottom Wolfsburg, former German title holders from 2009, nearer to their inaugural drop to a lower division.

Later that Saturday, second-positioned Borussia Dortmund have the opportunity to re-establish a six-point cushion over Hoffenheim by beating Cologne.