Bayern Munich were reduced to nine men after Nicolas Jackson and Luis Diaz were sent off, but they still managed to secure a tense 1–1 draw away to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Match Report
Jackson – given a rare start instead of Harry Kane – was shown a straight red card before half-time. Later, after Diaz had cancelled out Aleix Garcia’s early goal, the Colombian was dismissed in the 84th minute after receiving a second yellow card for simulation.
Leverkusen thought they had snatched victory in stoppage time when Jonas Hofmann scored, but the effort was ruled out for a tight offside. Bayern’s lead at the top of the Bundesliga table was reduced to nine points after Borussia Dortmund defeated Augsburg.
Leverkusen made a fast start, taking the lead when Montrell Culbreath won the ball from Diaz and initiated a rapid counterattack that ended with Garcia firing a powerful shot past Sven Ulreich, helped by a deflection off Jonathan Tah.
Bayern controlled much of the possession and briefly thought they had equalised, but Tah’s goal was disallowed for handball after a VAR check midway through the first half. Their situation worsened when Jackson was dismissed for a high challenge on Martin Terrier.
Before the hour mark, Malik Tillman and Patrik Schick both missed clear one-on-one chances. Soon after, Bayern were spared again when Kane – on the field for only two minutes – had a goal ruled out due to handball in the build-up.
Diaz eventually brought Vincent Kompany’s side level by finishing Michael Olise’s pass past Janis Blaswich. However, within 10 minutes he received two yellow cards, leaving Bayern with nine players for the closing stages.
The BayArena erupted when Hofmann’s deflected strike looped into the far corner, but celebrations were cut short as the goal was disallowed for offside after a review.
In the 96th minute, Ibrahim Maza nearly found a winner, though Ulreich reacted quickly to collect the ball before the Algerian could tap in the rebound.
Data Debrief: Bayern fight back again
Leverkusen could not capitalise on their two-man advantage. Bayern have now recovered 19 points from losing positions in the Bundesliga this season, the highest total in the league.
After Diaz’s dismissal, Leverkusen’s expected goals (xG) rose to 2.59. They were repeatedly denied by Ulreich, who made five saves in a Bundesliga match for the first time since 2024.
