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 after 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 half-time for a late challenge on Martin Terrier.
Bayern played with third-choice goalkeeper Sven Ulreich because Manuel Neuer has a calf problem 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 levelled 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 were 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 half-time. 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 the Champions League for the 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.
In Spain, Arda Guler scored from inside his own half and Fede Valverde capped an excellent week with another fine strike as Real Madrid thrashed Elche 4-1, cutting the gap on Barcelona at the top of La Liga to a point.
Uruguayan midfielder Valverde, who scored a sensational hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League in midweek, whipped the ball into the top corner before half-time after Antonio Rüdiger blasted the hosts ahead.
Dean Huijsen headed home the third for Álvaro Arbeloa’s side, who visit City on Tuesday aiming to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
The goal of the night, though, was scored by Turkish playmaker Guler late on. He spotted the Elche goalkeeper Matías Dituro off his line and lobbed home from near the centre circle.
Getafe’s Abdel Abqar was sent off after a review for grabbing the genitals of the Atlético Madrid striker Alexander Sørloth, in an incident that stunned players and supporters alike. The flashpoint came around the 55th minute when the referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz halted play and signalled a possible sending-off offence after being alerted by the video assistant referee, with the game being paused for several minutes.
The stoppage initially baffled those inside the stadium as it followed a routine challenge between Nahuel Molina and Mauro Arambarri, with nothing in that exchange suggesting a red card was imminent. Clarity arrived only when Ortiz consulted the pitchside monitor and replays shown on the stadium’s big screens revealed an off-the-ball altercation between Sørloth and Abqar. The footage showed the Moroccan defender touching the Norwegian’s groin. Sørloth reacted angrily, grabbing Abqar’s arm and pulling him to the ground.
After reviewing the images, the referee showed Abqar a straight red card for unsportsmanlike behaviour, while Sørloth was shown a yellow card for his reaction. The lengthy delay added an unusual subplot to a match ultimately settled by Molina’s first-half goal, which secured a 1-0 win for Diego Simeone’s side.
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 the Inter manager, Cristian Chivu, sent off as the home side furiously protested against a foul in the buildup.
Jérémie Boga scored the winner for Juventus in their 1-0 victory at Udinese. His first-half goal moved Juve up to fourth in the table to boost their Champions League qualification hopes.
In France, Lens missed the chance to move top of Ligue 1 and put pressure on Paris Saint-Germain as they slipped to a 2-1 loss at Lorient. Bamba Dieng put Lorient into an 18th-minute lead, bundling in from close range at the second time of asking after Lens failed to deal with a corner. Shortly after half-time, Odsonne Édouard collected the ball inside the Lorient half, carried it to the edge of the box and unleashed a low shot for the equaliser. But Lorient regained the advantage in the 65th minute, as Aiyegun Tosin stabbed the ball in from almost on the goalline.
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.