The match Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen played on Saturday night was, by any neutral’s reckoning, outstanding television and a near-disaster for everyone directly involved in it.
Bayern dominated possession from the first whistle and were denied twice by VAR for handball decisions that left their players furious, their manager measured, and pundits genuinely divided over the technology’s application.
The first disallowed goal came via a Kimmich free-kick that deflected in off Jonathan Tah — a player Tah deflected into his own net with his arm in a position that analysts debated exhaustively, citing IFAB guidelines on whether the arm was unnaturally positioned.
The second came when Harry Kane, on the pitch for barely a minute as a substitute, chased down a clearance from Leverkusen goalkeeper Janis Blaswich, with the ball striking his arm before Díaz converted the loose ball into an empty net.
Leverkusen had taken the lead in the sixth minute through Aleix García, whose deflected shot from the edge of the box wrong-footed Sven Ulreich and gave the hosts the platform they needed to defend and absorb Bayern’s pressure.
García’s goal followed a sharp piece of work by 19-year-old Montrell Culbreath, who stole possession off Díaz in Bayern’s defensive third and drove the attack forward — exactly the kind of transition Xabi Alonso’s successor at Leverkusen had been drilling all week.
The lead lasted until the 69th minute, when Michael Olise intercepted a pass and slipped in Díaz, whose low shot found the bottom corner to level the match and spark exactly the kind of Bayern momentum swing Leverkusen had spent an hour trying to prevent.
Then came the chaos. Jackson had already been shown a red card before halftime for a reckless studs-up challenge on Martin Terrier, which reduced Bayern to ten men and should have handed Leverkusen the initiative in the second half.
Díaz added a second yellow to his collection in the 84th minute when he went to ground under light contact from Blaswich, with referee Christian Dingert producing the card after consulting with his assistant — a decision that drew widespread criticism from former players reviewing the footage.
“We dealt with difficult situations and decisions, kept working hard as a team,” Kompany said after the match, his language carefully chosen, avoiding direct criticism of the referee while making clear that his side had overcome more than just the opposition.
Leverkusen had Jonas Hofmann’s late effort ruled out deep in stoppage time as well, adding their own chapter of VAR frustration to a match that seemed determined to deny everyone a clean ending.
For Bayern, who needed a win to build a meaningful cushion over Dortmund ahead of a congested schedule, the point felt costly; for Leverkusen, who carried numerical advantage for nearly 40 minutes and had a stoppage-time goal disallowed, it felt even worse.
