Kai Havertz came back to haunt the club where it all began for him as he scored an 89th-minute penalty to ensure our Champions League round of 16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen remains in the balance.

A quiet first half’s biggest moment saw Gabiel Martinelli rattle the crossbar as we looked to establish a first-leg lead, but a slow start to the second half proved costly as Robert Andrich headed in a corner within 45 seconds of the restart.

But just as it looked like we were going to suffer defeat in the competition for the first time since last season’s semi-final, Noni Madueke was brought down inside the box, and after a lengthy VAR check, Havertz kept his cool to net from 12 yards and restore parity ahead of next week’s return leg at Emirates Stadium.

Woodwork rattled

The opening half wasn’t one that would live long in the memory as both teams – perhaps aware that there would be a second leg to play next Tuesday – kept their cards close to their chest and cancelled each other out.

Young prospect Christian Fofane hit an early drive straight at David Raya as a sign of intent from the host, but on 19 minutes we nearly went ahead with the best piece of attacking play in the opening 45.

Bukayo Saka brought the ball down the right and played in Jurrien Timber. His low centre was dummied by Ebere Eze, held up by Viktor Gyokeres and laid into Gabriel Martinelli’s path for the Brazilian to thump a shot off the bar, with the ricochet just evading Saka.

Playing against his parent club, Piero Hincapie was back on familiar territory and he tried to get on the scoresheet on his return but could only shoot powerfully at Janis Blaswich in the Leverkusen goal who made a routine stop, while the first half came to a close just after Ibrahim Maza dragged an effort well wide.

Read more Arteta praises his “finishers” for Leverkusen draw

Hosts strike first

We went into the break maintaining our record as the only team that hadn’t trailed at any point in the Champions League this season, but within 45 seconds of the restart that record ended.

It took just 10 seconds for us to be put under pressure as Leverkusen caught us napping from the restart and swiftly conjured up an opportunity for Martin Terrier but Raya managed to tip his header over the bar.

But from the resulting corner, Alejandro Grimaldo whipped a corner over to the back post, where captain Andrich was on hand to squeeze a header past Raya.

However after that rip-roaring start to the second half, it once again returned to a cagey affair with little in the way of goalmouth action, aside from a couple of wayward attempts from the home team.

Read more Madueke pumped for “amazing” second leg atmosphere

Havertz the hero

Mikel Arteta attempted to freshen things up by bringing on Madueke and Havertz, who received a warm welcome from the supporters who used to adore him during his 10 years at the club, where he progressed through the ranks.

However they would be rueing his return with a minute to play when Madueke burst into the box and was brought down by a defender. The referee pointed straight to the spot, a lengthy VAR check followed before some schaningans from the home players delayed things further, however Kai kept his cool and beat Blaswich to earn us a draw.

Read more Every word from Arteta’s post-Leverkusen presser

FACTS AND STATS

We have avoided defeat in the first leg of four of our last five Champions League knockout games, going on to progress in two of the previous three ties.

Bayer Leverkusen avoided defeat in the first leg of a Champions League last 16 match for just the second time, but they’ve never gone on to progress from the previous six occasions they’ve played in this round.

Leverkusen are unbeaten in three consecutive knockout round matches in the Champions League for the first time since April 2002.

Kai Havertz’s penalty, timed at 88 minutes and 33 seconds, was our latest penalty goal in a major European game since Nicklas Bendtner scored against Porto in March 2010 (90:26).

Robert Andrich’s opener was just the second time ever we have conceded in the first minute of the second half in a major European game, after Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal for Barcelona in the Champions League in March 2010.

Alejandro Grimaldo has been directly involved in seven Champions League goals this season (4 goals, 3 assists) – Michael Ballack in 2001/02 is the only player to have more goals and assists in one campaign for Bayer Leverkusen (6 goals, 3 assists).

Buyako Saka made his 25th appearance in the Champions League tonight; Harry Kane (23) is the only Englishman with more goal involvements in his first 25 games in the competition (20, 12 goals, 8 assists).

Kai Havertz has been directly involved in seven goals (5 goals, 2 assists) in his last six Champions League games, after just two goals in his first 14 matches in the competition for us.

Aged 19 years and 228 days old, Christian Kofane became the second-youngest player to start a Champions League knockout match for Bayer Leverkusen, behind Kai Havertz (17y 255d v Atletico Madrid in 2017).

What’s next

We’re back in Premier League action on Saturday when Everton head to N5 for an early-evening kick-off, before the return leg against Leverkusen in north London on Tuesday. Then we’re off to Wembley for the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City on Sunday, March 22.

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