Football
ESPN staff 7y

Bayer Leverkusen's Roger Schmidt laments late Monaco equaliser

Bayer Leverkusen head coach Roger Schmidt was displeased with Monaco's late goal that saw both teams share the spoils in their Champions League Group E match.

An in-form Javier Hernandez gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead at the Stade Louis II but Monaco defender Kamil Glik let rip with a fierce drive right at the death to snatch a point.

The result saw Monaco go top of Group E with four points, while Tottenham Hotspur sit in second place with Leverkusen in third.

"It's a pity," he told a news conference. "We played very well, the lead was deserved and a win would have been deserved as well.

"However, football can be brutal sometimes and we have to accept that."

His counterpart Leonardo Jardim did not agree with Schmidt's claims that Leverkusen deserved victory, and lauded his substitutes for changing the game.

"The game was balanced -- I looked at the stats," he said. "All the important figures are balanced.

"Taking a point having been behind is always a positive. The team reacted after the goal and the substitutes brought something.

"Glik's goal is as important as the assist of [Guido] Carrillo, who won his duel. Glik is a player with a strong personality. He has a positive attitude and works well with the others."

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