How depleted Bayern claimed a point at Bayer Leverkusen

It was tough to know quite where to start once the full-time whistle went. Bayern had two players sent off and two goals ruled out by VAR as they were held to a 1-1 draw away at Bayer Leverkusen. A draw, yes, but the level of drama, battling spirit and morale meant it almost felt like a win for the Bundesliga leaders. And then there was also Sven Ulreich, making his first appearance in well over a year and producing a big save in added time. “The guys have known me a long time and know I’m there when needed,” the 37-year-old said.

Leverkusen strike early

The goalkeeper had little time to get reaccustomed to being out on the pitch. Nobody had time to settle as Leverkusen struck with their first shot of the game. Ulreich, though, was powerless to help after a deflection off Jonathan Tah. The hosts could use their lead to sit back and look to break, especially down the right where 18-year-old Montrell Culbreath was a lively outlet, having also created the opening goal.

Although Bayern’s defence generally had striker Patrik Schick under control, they didn’t always manage to deal with the Czech man’s ability to lay the ball off to teammates. Vincent Kompany’s men dominated possession at 69 percent and won 83 percent of duels, but Leverkusen had their early lead – a division-leading ninth goal in the opening 15 minutes of games this season.

Bayern struggled at first and were unable to replicate the creativity and attacking threat they showed during the week in their 6-1 win at Atalanta in the Champions League. But they did soon have the ball in the net when a Joshua Kimmich free-kick went in off ex-Leverkusen man Tah. However, referee Christian Dingert ruled it out on review because the ball had struck the Bayern defender on the arm before going in. A correct decision but tough to take.

Intensity, red cards, more VAR

Leverkusen stuck to their approach even after they thought they’d conceded. They remained a danger on the counter and created a number of chances as the intensity of the game increased. Tah was one of several names to end up in the referee’s book, picking up his fifth yellow card of the season and therefore a suspension for next weekend’s fixture against Union Berlin. Nicolas Jackson, who again showed plenty of commitment and effort in place of Harry Kane, will also miss that game after he had a yellow card upgraded to a red for a foul on Martin Terrier just before half-time. “We can debate other things after that, but not there,” Kompany admitted afterwards. It was only Bayern’s second sending-off in the Bundesliga under the Belgian after João Palhinha’s dismissal in the 3-2 loss at home to Bochum on 8 March 2025. Ulreich denied Malik Tillman as Bayern went into half-time trailing for the second time in the last three Bundesliga games – as often as in the previous 43 matches combined.

After the restart, there was little sign that Bayern were actually a man down. They ran, tackled, passed and pressed as if nothing had happened, with the front three of Michael Olise, Luis Díaz and Lennart Karl interchanging in attack.

One of the best moves of the game saw Dayot Upamecano and Karl work through the Leverkusen press on the edge of their own box before setting Olise away, who fed Díaz, but the Colombian slipped as he tried to get his shot away. Kompany introduced Kane after an hour and very nearly brought about the equaliser after blocking a clearance from goalkeeper Janis Blaswich, before tapping in Díaz’s ball back into the centre. But again VAR intervened and ruled Kane had handled the ball when he blocked it. So instead of 1-1 or even 2-1 to 10-man Bayern, it was still 1-0 in Leverkusen’s favour.

Goal and red for Díaz

Since Bayern kept pushing just as hard as if they still had a full complement of players, they finally got themselves on parity with a goal that did stand. Olise was quickest to a loose pass from Leverkusen captain Robert Andrich, again playing in Díaz to slot home. The France international now has 17 assists this Bundesliga campaign, which is a new record after 26 matchdays since data collection began in 2003/04. The Colombian, meanwhile, moved up to 15 goals, level with Deniz Undav of VfB Stuttgart in second place in the division behind Kane (30).

Leverkusen reacted to the goal with renewed energy and it developed into a breathless encounter between the Bundesliga’s two remaining Champions League teams, which Bayern absolutely wanted to win. But their task was made even harder in the 84th minute when Díaz went down in the box after a slight touch from Blaswich and referee Dingert produced a second yellow card for simulation. There was no ability to review this incident, though, forcing Bayern to see out the game with nine men. Díaz is now the first Bayern player for 22 years to both score and be sent off in a Bundesliga game since Michael Ballack against Hannover on 8 February 2004. It was also the first time since April 2001 away at Borussia Dortmund that the Bavarians had two players dismissed in a single league game. “Today we had to deal with lots of difficult situations and decisions. But the decisive thing is how you deal with it as a team. I think we did an amazing job today,” said Tah afterwards.

Ulreich ensures a point

Leverkusen sensed an opportunity after that, no longer having to deal with Bayern’s seemingly tireless front line. Even then, Bayern retained superiority in terms of possession with 58 percent, but it was the hosts who came closest to winning it when substitute Jonas Hofmann finished off a spell of pressure, only for VAR to intervene one final time with a tight offside call.

“I’m so incredibly proud of the guys’ mental effort. There was so much going on today, so many important phases that we’ll have lots of different opinions about,” Kompany added after the final whistle. Another key moment was a big late save by Ulreich, repaying all the faith placed him well over a year since his last competitive appearance. “We have a great team of goalkeepers. Both guys [Manuel Neuer and Jonas Urbig] messaged me before the game to wish me luck and were happy I got to play today. There’s real harmony in our goalkeeping group. I’m pleased to be a part of that and this team,” Bayern’s third choice revealed. And they were right to be. He and the efforts of the entire team ensured that the Bavarians picked up their 19th point from a losing position this season.

“We didn’t want to accept difficult situations bringing us down. That shows the strength of this team. That’s exactly what we need in the coming games,” Tah stated. We’ll get to see it again at the Allianz Arena this Wednesday for the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Atalanta.