Leverkusen 1-1 Bayern: Jackson & Diaz see red as 9-man leaders hold on for draw

Bayern Munich had Nicolas Jackson and Luis Diaz sent off but held on in a dramatic 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Match Report

Jackson – handed a rare start in place of Harry Kane – received a straight red card before half-time and, after cancelling out Aleix Garcia's early opener, Diaz was shown a second yellow card for simulation in the 84th minute.

Jonas Hofmann then had a stoppage-time winner for Leverkusen ruled out for a marginal offside decision, with Bayern's lead at the Bundesliga summit cut to nine points following Borussia Dortmund's win over Augsburg.

Leverkusen raced into an early lead when Montrell Culbreath dispossessed Luis Diaz and launched a swift break that ended with Garcia's powerful effort beating Sven Ulreich with the help of a deflection off Jonathan Tah.

Bayern dominated possession and saw a goal by Tah ruled out for handball following a VAR review midway through the half, and their hopes of getting back into the game took another blow when Jackson was given his marching orders for a high tackle on Martin Terrier.

Malik Tillman and Patrik Schick missed glorious one-on-one opportunities before the hour mark and they were let off the hook when Kane, who had only been on the pitch for two minutes, had a goal chalked off for a handball in the build-up.

Diaz drew Vincent Kompany's side level when he slotted Michael Olise's pass beyond Janis Blaswich, but he was shown two yellow cards in the space of 10 minutes to leave his team up against it in the closing stages.

The BayArena erupted when Hofmann's deflected shot looped into the far corner, but it was disallowed for offside following a review.

Ibrahim Maza went close to finding a winner in the 96th minute, only for Ulreich to gather his shot before the Algerian got there to tap home a follow-up.

Data Debrief: Bayern come back once again

Leverkusen failed to make the most of their numerical advantage, with Bayern now having salvaged 19 points from losing positions in the Bundesliga this season - more than any other team.

The hosts expected goals (xG) surged to 2.59 following Diaz's dismissal and they will rue their inability to get the better of Ulreich, who had to make five saves in a top-flight match for the first time since 2024.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

6' GOAL! Leverkusen 1-0 Bayern

9' Match Event for Leverkusen vs Bayern

14' Highlight from Leverkusen vs Bayern

18' Match Event for Leverkusen vs Bayern

24' Match Event for Leverkusen vs Bayern

26' Match Event for Leverkusen vs Bayern

31' Match Event for Leverkusen vs Bayern

42' Red Card! Nicolas Jackson sent off

45' Match Event for Leverkusen vs Bayern

50' Highlight from Leverkusen vs Bayern

53' Match Event for Leverkusen vs Bayern

57' Highlight from Leverkusen vs Bayern

61' Match Event for Leverkusen vs Bayern

66' Highlight from Leverkusen vs Bayern

69' GOAL! Leverkusen 1-1 Bayern (Luis Díaz)

71' Match Event for Leverkusen vs Bayern

74' Highlight from Leverkusen vs Bayern

84' Red Card! Sent Off

86' Highlight from Leverkusen vs Bayern

90' Match Event for Leverkusen vs Bayern

92' Highlight from Leverkusen vs Bayern

Line-ups

Leverkusen XI: Janis Blaswich, Andrich, Schick, A.García, Terrier, Tapsoba, Malik Tillman, Equi Fernández, Quansah, Ernest Poku, Montrell Culbreath

Subs: Lomb, Hofmann, Jonas Omlin, Exequiel Palacios, Tella, Tim Oermann, Ibrahim Maza, Axel Tape, Christian Kofane

Bayern XI: Ulreich, Kimmich, Tah, Laimer, Upamecano, Luis Díaz, Stanisic, Olise, Nicolas Jackson, Pavlovic, Lennart Karl

Subs: Kane, Guerreiro, Goretzka, Gnabry, Min-jae Kim, Tom Bischof, Deniz Ofli, Leonard Prescott, Maycon Cardozo