Bayern Munich held to 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen after 2 red cards, Dortmund closes in

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BERLIN (AP) — Bayern Munich salvaged a 1-1 draw despite clinging on with nine players at Bayer Leverkusen as Harry Kane returned to action following an injury on Saturday, while Borussia Dortmund cut Bayern's Bundesliga lead to nine points.

Luis Díaz, who scored the equalizer following Aleix García's opener, was sent off in the 84th minute for a second yellow card for diving. Nicolas Jackson, starting with Kane on the bench, received a straight red card for a poor tackle in the 42nd minute.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany and his players were sharply critical of the decision to send off Díaz, and referee Christian Dingert admitted after the game that it wasn't the right call after viewing a replay, in comments to broadcaster Sky Sport.

“I'm incredibly proud of the mental performance the guys showed,” Kompany said of his team. “There was an incredible amount of things going on today.”

Leverkusen took the lead in the sixth minute after 18-year-old German-American winger Montrell Culbreath stole the ball off Díaz and fed it to Patrik Schick, who set up García on the edge of the box. The midfielder slotted home with a deflected shot.

The hosts defended well to contain Bayern's attempts to come back, and frustration showed when Jackson was sent off before halftime for a late challenge on Martin Terrier.

Bayern played with third-choice goalkeeper Sven Ulreich because Manuel Neuer has a calf issue and backup Jonas Urbig was concussed in the 6-1 win over Atalanta midweek in the Champions League. Ulreich denied an effort from Schick in a one-on-one situation at the hour mark just before Kane came on.

Back from a calf injury, Kane played for the first time since Feb. 28 after scoring eight goals in his past four Bundesliga games. He fired the ball into an empty net in the 62nd minute but it was disallowed for blocking the goalkeeper's clearance with a hand in the buildup.

Diaz leveled in the 69th with a low shot from Michael Olise's precise setup. The Colombia winger later received a second yellow card for diving and Bayern was down to nine men with six minutes left to play. The hosts could not snatch the win despite pushing hard until the end as Jonas Hofmann had a goal ruled out deep in stoppage time.

Bayern hasn’t won at Leverkusen in the league since October 2021, and heads back there next month for a German Cup semifinal.

Sixth-place Leverkusen missed a chance for what would have been only its second win in seven games in all competitions. It's drawn five of the last six and heads into a Champions League second leg game at Arsenal on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.

Dortmund was in total control throughout the first half and Augsburg was lucky to trail by just one goal at halftime. Karim Adeyemi broke the deadlock in the 13th and had several other chances, hitting the woodwork twice. Luca Reggiani made it 2-0 in the 59th.

Hoffenheim, aiming to qualify for Champions League for first time since the 2018-19 season, stayed third — 17 points behind Bayern — after a 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Wolfsburg, which was playing its first game under new coach Dieter Hecking.

Cologne's 19-year-old winger Said El Mala scored his ninth goal of a breakout season in a 1-1 draw with Hamburger SV. Eintracht Frankfurt beat Heidenheim 1-0 with a goal from Arnaud Kalimuendo.

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