European football: Díaz rescues Bayern and then sees red against Leverkusen

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Bayern Munich came from behind and finished the match with nine players in a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, allowing Borussia Dortmund to close to within nine points of the Bundesliga leaders. Luis Díaz, who scored the equaliser following Aleix García’s opener, was sent off in the 84th minute for a second yellow card. Nicolas Jackson had received a red card in the 42nd minute.

Leverkusen took the lead in the sixth minute after 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, 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 Harry Kane came on.

Back from a calf injury, Kane played for the first time since 28 February 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.

Díaz 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 haven’t won at Leverkusen in the league since October 2021.

Dortmund were 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. Eintracht Frankfurt beat Heidenheim 1-0 with a goal from Arnaud Kalimuendo.

Inter were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Atalanta on Saturday, as the Serie A leaders continued to drop points. Inter have 68 points, eight ahead of second-placed Milan who visit Lazio on Sunday. Atalanta remain seventh on 47 points. Francesco Pio Esposito gave Inter the lead in the 26th minute but they failed to put the game beyond Atalanta in a lacklustre display. The visitors found the equaliser through Nikola Krstovic eight minutes from time, with Inter manager Cristian Chivu sent off as the home side furiously protested a foul in the build-up.

Nikola Krstovic of Atalanta celebrates after scoring the equalising goal against Inter.

Later on Saturday in Serie A, Napoli in third take on struggling Lecce and sixth-place Juventus visit mid-table Udinese in the battle to be in next season’s Champions League.

In Spain, third-placed Atlético Madrid host Getafe, four days after putting five on Tottenham in their Champions League last-16 first leg. In the evening, Real Madrid seek to follow up their first leg win over Manchester City by beating Elche and cutting Barcelona’s lead at the top to one point, before the Catalan club host Sevilla on Sunday.

PSV Eindhoven could become Dutch champions on Sunday if they win at home to Nijmegen this evening. Victory would take PSV 22 points clear of Feyenoord, who would host Excelsior on Sunday knowing defeat would hand their rivals the title with seven games to play.

In France, Paris Saint-Germain have been given the weekend off between their two legs against Chelsea, so Lens can go two points clear with a win at Lorient.