1. FC Heidenheim celebrated a draw against Bayer Leverkusen like a win. Coach Frank Schmidt is proud of his team. "We didn't give up, but were able to turn the game around in our own way," said Schmidt in an interview with SWR. "We gave everything and were rewarded." Schmidt praised his team with a "great respect" and emphasized that the team's performance was not a given. "We are 18th in the table, and we didn't collapse. We finally managed to come back and get a point." "Pure joy" felt the coach, who had emphasized last week that he would fulfill his contract until 2027 despite the sporty precarious situation: "I didn't think I would be so happy about a point, as if it were a win." The 52-year-old was also happy to be able to give something back to the fans. After all, the team was also supported every time in the difficult weeks and never booed. Heidenheim's slide into the second division seems to be difficult to prevent with 14 consecutive losses and a nine-point deficit on relegation rank 16 - despite the respect earned. However, the goals from Hennes Behrens (56.) and Marvin Pieringer (72./penalty/85.) show that the team's morale is still intact. For Leverkusen, Malik Tillman (22nd minute) and Patrik Schick (35./79.) scored.