Nine-man Bayern survives late Leverkusen scare
Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich had two players sent off and two goals disallowed but came back from a goal down to snatch a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen, despite late drama when the hosts thought they'd bagged a stoppage-time winner.
The Bavarian side, fresh from its 6-1 demolition of Atalanta in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, had Nicolas Jackson sent off for a wild tackle before the break.
Forward Luis Diaz, who scored Bayern's 69th-minute equaliser, joined him on the sidelines after a second booking for diving.
The hosts made a perfect start when Garcia fired them into the lead as Bayern, with top scorer Harry Kane on the bench, failed to settle.
The visitors put the ball in the net through Jonathan Tah but the effort was disallowed after a video assistant referee (VAR) review for hand ball.
It got worse three minutes from half-time when Jackson was dismissed for his reckless tackle on Martin Terrier.
Malik Tillman should have added another for Leverkusen when he was sent through with a clever Patrik Schick backheel but the United States international fired wide with only Bayern keeper Sven Ulreich to beat.
Bayern's third-choice keeper, making a rare appearance because of injuries to Manuel Neuer and Jonas Urbig, also denied Schick in a one-on-one.
Kane, back after missing two matches with a muscle injury, challenged Leverkusen goalkeeper Janis Blaswich and tapped in from close range a minute after coming on, only for the goal to be disallowed for handball by the England captain.
Diaz did better, slotting in after a defensive blunder from Robert Andrich and Michael Olise's record-breaking 17th assist of the season, to level but he got his marching orders six minutes from time for a spectacular dive in the box.
There was more late drama when the hosts thought they had won it in stoppage-time through substitute Jonas Hofmann's close-range effort, but another VAR review showed a narrow offside position.
Bayern has 67 points ahead of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, which closed the gap to nine after a 2-0 home victory over Augsburg, with eight games of the season remaining.
"I'm incredibly proud of the team's mentality today," Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said.
"I'm proud of the team, but unhappy with some of the decisions. Regarding Jonathan Tah's [disallowed first half] goal, what should he do? The ball bounced off his arm into his foot.
"As for Harry's [Kane] goal, I can't understand it either. For me it was a clear goal. I'm proud but there were situations where we can have different opinions."
