Bayern Munich survived two red cards and a late VAR twist to draw 1-1 with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, a result that trimmed Bayern’s advantage at the top to nine points after Borussia Dortmund beat Augsburg, while Leverkusen missed several chances to punish the depleted league leaders.

The match exploded in the final stages when Jonas Hofmann thought a deflected strike had secured victory for Leverkusen, only for VAR to spot a narrow offside, and Bayern then almost snatched all three points themselves as Ibrahim Maza forced Sven Ulreich into a crucial save in the 96th minute.

Nicolas Jackson, preferred from the start instead of Harry Kane, left Bayern with ten players before half-time after a straight red card for a high challenge on Martin Terrier, then Luis Diaz, who had drawn Bayern level, collected two yellow cards in just 10 minutes, the second for simulation in the 84th minute.

Bayern’s night started badly when Montrell Culbreath robbed Diaz near halfway and triggered a swift counter, with Aleix Garcia’s driven shot beating Ulreich thanks to a deflection off Jonathan Tah, giving Leverkusen an early advantage and energising the BayArena crowd in this key Bundesliga meeting.

Despite falling behind, Bayern controlled long spells of possession and thought they had equalised earlier in the first half when Tah turned the ball in, but VAR intervened again, this time judging a handball in the build-up, while later Harry Kane also saw a potential goal cancelled for handling shortly after coming off the bench.

Before those incidents, both Malik Tillman and Patrik Schick passed up huge one-on-one openings before the hour mark, wasting clear chances to double Leverkusen’s lead, and that wastefulness proved costly when Diaz converted calmly, guiding Michael Olise’s precise through ball beyond Janis Blaswich for the 1-1 scoreline.

That assist extended Olise’s outstanding creative record in the Bundesliga, with detailed data highlighting the scale of the achievement.

The creative numbers underline why Bayern continued to search for space for Olise even when reduced to nine players.

Bundesliga meeting Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen: key stats and late pressure

After Diaz’s dismissal, Leverkusen pushed Bayern deep and increased attacking volume, with the hosts’ expected goals figure rising to 2.59, yet Ulreich stood firm, producing five saves in a Bundesliga match for the first time since 2024 as Leverkusen struggled to turn pressure into a decisive second goal.

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Leverkusen’s inability to strike again meant Bayern extended an impressive habit this Bundesliga season of recovering from setbacks, with the champions now having earned 19 points from losing positions, the highest tally in the division, while Leverkusen were left reflecting on missed opportunities and a marginal offside call that kept the gap at the summit at nine points.