Lars Bender frustrated by late collapse

Lars Bender has revealed his frustration after Bayer Leverkusen missed out on clinching a memorable victory over Barcelona in the Champions League.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos put the visitors ahead in the first half of the Group E clash, but Barcelona scored twice in the last 10 minutes to collect all three points as Sergi Roberto and Luis Suarez came to the rescue in a 2-1 win.

It was a result which left Barcelona one point clear of Leverkusen and BATE Borisov, and Bender admitted it was difficult to take the positives.

"We could have scored the second, but we didn't. We have been close to causing a sensation tonight," Bender told reporters. "They have a lot of quality in their team and we couldn't defend against all the chances they created.

"It is very disappointing for us to concede two goals in such a short time in the final stages of the game."

Leverkusen return to Bundesliga action against Augsburg on Sunday.