Michael Ballack said he was hurt by yesterday's 2-2 draw with Hamburg which left last season's runners-up Bayer Leverkusen languishing in seventh position in the Bundesliga.

Bayer threw away a two-goal lead as they failed to win once again at the BayArena, where they have now picked up just eight points in six games.

"We showed two faces in one game today," Ballack told Sky. "We played our best first half an hour of the season, but then we moved down two or three gears. We have lacked the security in recent weeks and today was certainly a step backwards.

We are not getting anywhere and eighth or ninth place are not our aim.
Michael Ballack, Bayer Leverkusen midfielder

"We are not getting anywhere and eighth or ninth place are not our aim, but we don't seem to be able to move anywhere because we are not picking up points at home and that obviously hurts."

Hamburg are slowly moving up the table and their coach Thorsten Fink, who is unbeaten since taking charge last month, is pleased with his side's progress. "Our team showed morale and that shows that we have a good character," he said.

"After half an hour, we showed what we are capable of. I have only been here for two-and-a-half weeks and the team does not realise what they are capable of. This performance against a side like Leverkusen was very impressive and this game gives us self-confidence."