Bayern Munich hold firm for draw despite red cards at Leverkusen

Bayern Munich, sitting at the top of the table, managed to secure a 1-1 draw away to Bayer Leverkusen, even after being reduced to nine players in a highly dramatic Bundesliga encounter on Saturday.

Borussia Dortmund, in second place, closed the gap to nine points behind the defending champions with a straightforward victory at home against Augsburg, leaving eight matches remaining in the season.

Aleix Garcia opened the scoring for Leverkusen, while Bayern forward Nicolas Jackson received a red card prior to the interval.

Luis Diaz restored parity for Bayern, but he was then dismissed with a second yellow for simulation inside the penalty area.

Bayern defended resolutely to claim a share of the spoils, despite Leverkusen seeing two late strikes disallowed in added time.

Bayern also suffered from goals by Jonathan Tah and replacement Harry Kane being overturned by VAR due to handball offences in what was a chaotic affair at the BayArena.

"The refereeing was substandard today," said Bayern manager Vincent Kompany in an interview with DAZN.

"No one in the ground understands why he (Diaz) was sent off, it is ridiculous...

"I need someone to tell me why that warranted a yellow card right then in the match.

"It is a major setback, and he will miss the upcoming fixture."

Match official Christian Dingert acknowledged his mistake in ejecting Diaz.

"I viewed the challenge as a dive. Upon reviewing the video, it is evident there was no foul. However, the dismissal was overly severe. I would not issue it retrospectively," Dingert explained to Sky.

Leverkusen, fresh from a 1-1 stalemate with Arsenal in midweek, head to the English capital for the return leg of their Champions League knockout tie on Tuesday.

Garcia capped a slick passing sequence to give Leverkusen an early advantage just six minutes in, the Spanish playmaker latching onto a Patrik Schick through ball and lofting it over Bayern's stand-in keeper Sven Ulreich, who was between the posts with regulars Manuel Neuer and Jonas Urbig sidelined by injury.

Ex Leverkusen defender Tah appeared to equalise during the first period from a set-piece delivery, only for VAR to rule it out.

Bayern's situation worsened moments before the break when Jackson was shown a straight red for stamping on Martin Terrier's ankle with his studs.

With half an hour to play, Bayern introduced Kane from the bench following his recovery from a calf injury, and the England skipper believed he had netted within a minute, but VAR detected a handball infringement once more.

Diaz eventually found the target for Bayern, steering in a precise cross from Michael Olise in the 69th minute.

In pursuit of a late winner, the forward tumbled in the area after minimal challenge from Leverkusen goalkeeper Janis Blaswich and earned a second booking for feigning contact.

For the first time since 2001, Bayern played out the closing moments with nine men yet showed remarkable resilience to hold out for the draw.

Dortmund narrow the gap

Dortmund reduced the deficit to Bayern by two points courtesy of a 2-0 success against Augsburg at home, with goals from Karim Adeyemi and Luca Reggiani.

"We had a great time out there. We dominated proceedings," Dortmund midfielder Felix Nmecha commented to DAZN.

Adeyemi put the hosts ahead in the 13th minute, slotting home a Maximilian Beier cut-back from near the goal line.

After a laboured win over 10-man Cologne in their previous outing, Dortmund displayed much better attacking rhythm, though Adeyemi and Beier struck the woodwork several times before half-time, keeping Augsburg in contention.

Near the hour, teenage defender Reggiani rose to nod in a Julian Ryerson corner for his maiden Bundesliga strike.

The result lifted Dortmund to 58 points, surpassing their full haul from the prior campaign.

In the evening fixture, newly promoted Hamburg shared the points in a 1-1 draw with Cologne, as Arsenal's on-loan player Fabio Vieira curled in a fine effort for the home side, matched by Said El Mala's close-range header.

In other action, Arnaud Kalimuendo's goal secured a 1-0 triumph for Eintracht Frankfurt over bottom side Heidenheim.

Wolfsburg's survival push stalled with a 1-1 result at Hoffenheim, leaving them mired in the drop zone.