Both Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich lost further ground on the runaway league Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund as they shared the spoils at the BayArena this evening.

Mario Gomez put Bayern ahead in the 34th minute before a penalty from Arturo Vidal earned Leverkusen, who have not beaten Bayern since 2004, a point. The result leaves Leverkusen nine points behind Dortmund and Bayern are now 14 adrift with four games to go before the midway stage of the season.

It was bitter to draw, because I could have scored in the last few minutes.
Mario Gomez, Bayern Munich

"The point is ok, but we could have won," said Bayern goal-scorer Mario Gomez. "Dortmund are mentally strong and believe in themselves, but if they lose a few games, we need to be there."

"It was bitter to draw, because I could have scored in the last few minutes," he said. "We conceded the equaliser just before half-time, Leverkusen were very strong in the second half, so we have to be happy with the point."

Both sides built up play well, but showed caution when it came to sending men forward in case they left too many gaps at the back. The first moment of danger arrived in front of Bayern's goal in the 21st minute when Sidney Sam's shot hit the top of the crossbar. Bayern took the lead 10 minutes before the break when Gomez was given a simple tap-in from a yard out to continue his excellent run of form. The Germany international has now scored eight goals in his last six matches, but he failed to add to that a few minutes later when Bastian Schweinsteiger, the provider of the goal, again tried to find his compatriot in the centre, but he was unable to get in a shot.

Bayern were growing in confidence, but as they began to defend their lead to the interval, Danijel Pranjic committed a foul on Sam inside the area. Vidal stepped up to slot in the spot-kick and bring Leverkusen level. Leverkusen had the best chances to win the game in the second half when Eren Derdiyok failed to beat Hans-Jorg Butt in a one-on-one situation. Vidal then tested Butt from distance, but there was no way through as both sides had to settle for a draw.