Nine-man Bayern hold on for draw at Leverkusen

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

Borussia Dortmund, in second place, closed the gap to nine points behind the defending champions Bayern after an easy victory at home against Augsburg, with eight matches remaining.

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

Luis Diaz equalised for Bayern, but he was then sent off with a second yellow for simulation inside the penalty area.

Bayern defended resolutely to earn a share of the spoils, as Leverkusen saw two late attempts disallowed during added time.

Bayern also suffered blows when goals by Jonathan Tah and replacement Harry Kane were overturned by VAR due to handball incidents in a wildly unpredictable contest at the BayArena.

Garcia capped a slick team effort to give Leverkusen the advantage after just six minutes, the Spanish playmaker taking a pass from Patrik Schick and lofting it over Bayern custodian Sven Ulreich.

Ex-Leverkusen defender Tah appeared to have restored parity in the middle of the opening period with a header from a set piece, only for VAR to rule it out.

Bayern's situation worsened when Jackson was dismissed for stamping on Martin Terrier's ankle right before half-time.

With half an hour remaining, Bayern introduced Kane following his layoff due to a calf injury, and the England skipper believed he had netted within 47 seconds, but VAR detected a handball offence once more.

Diaz at last provided Bayern with an equaliser by directing a precise pass from Michael Olise into the net on the 69th minute.

In the 84th minute, the Colombian forward collapsed in the area after minimal challenge from Leverkusen goalkeeper Janis Blaswich and earned a second booking for diving.

Despite being short-handed, Bayern showed great resolve in the final moments to hold out for the draw.

Dortmund narrowed the distance to Bayern thanks to goals from Karim Adeyemi and Luca Reggiani in a straightforward 2-0 triumph over Augsburg at home.

Adeyemi put Dortmund ahead in the 13th minute by converting a close-range pass from Maximilian Beier.

After a laboured performance against 10-man Cologne the previous week, Dortmund displayed sharp attacking play, though Adeyemi and Beier both struck the woodwork before the break.

Near the hour, teenage defender Reggiani rose to nod in a corner from Julian Ryerson, marking his debut Bundesliga strike.

In other action, Arnaud Kalimuendo netted the winner as Eintracht Frankfurt defeated bottom feeders Heidenheim 1-0.

Wolfsburg's struggle to escape relegation suffered a setback with a 1-1 stalemate at Hoffenheim, leaving them mired in the drop zone.