Leverkusen win to delay Bayern and Kane’s title party

MUNICH: Bayern Munich and Harry Kane’s title celebrations will need to wait after Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-0 win over Augsburg cancelled out the Bavarians’ 3-0 home victory over Mainz on Saturday in the Bundesliga.

Bayern needed to win and hope Leverkusen dropped points to lift the title. First-half goals from Leroy Sane and Michael Olise and a late Eric Dier strike put Bayern on course, but Xabi Alonso’s defending champions were not willing to cede their title so easily.

Bayern can collect their 34th league title with a win next week at RB Leipzig but will need to do so without Kane.

The England captain, who has famously never lifted a team title with club or country in his career, will miss the match with a yellow card suspension.

Serge Gnabry created Bayern’s opener for Sane, dribbling through a crowded penalty area and cutting back for the former Manchester City winger to score.

Olise doubled up with 40 minutes played, drifting in off the right and wrongfooting the goalkeeper with a low shot at the near post.

With 10 minutes remaining, Bayern veteran Thomas Mueller, who will leave the club at season’s end, came off the bench for his 500th Bundesliga appearance.

Dier, also yet to win a team trophy in his career, headed in from a corner with six minutes remaining.

In Leverkusen, Florian Wirtz helped create the hosts’ opener, threading the ball to Nathan Tella on the counter.

Tella found Patrik Schick whose shot took a wicked deflection and looped over the goalkeeper for his 19th league goal of the season.

Emi Buendia curled in from the edge of the box just before half-time, giving the hosts, who have dropped more points than any other side from a winning position this season, some welcome breathing space.

Leverkusen shut up shop in the second half, ensuring they will stay in possession of the Bundesliga shield for at least another week.

Elsewhere, Waldemar Anton scored in stoppage time to snatch a 3-2 win for Borussia Dortmund at Hoffenheim, boosting their top four hopes.

Dortmund emerged victorious at the end of a match in which they led twice but kept letting their opponents back in.

Serhou Guirassy put the visitors in front after 20 minutes but missed a penalty later in the half.

Hoffenheim’s Adam Hlozek struck back after 61 minutes. Julian Brandt put Dortmund back in front with a beautiful volley on the 74th-minute mark but Hoffenheim equalised again through Pavel Kaderabek in the final minute.

Anton’s strike in the fifth minute of injury time moved Dortmund up to sixth, three points off fourth spot.

Freiburg won 1-0 at a 10-man Wolfsburg to climb past RB Leipzig into fourth, with Max Rosenfelder scoring the only goal of the match just after half-time.

Leipzig can return to fourth spot with a win when they play at Eintracht Frankfurt later on Saturday.

Holstein Kiel kept their slim hopes of beating the drop alive with a 4-3 win at home against

Borussia Moenchengladbach, with Japan forward Shuto Machino scoring the winner in stoppage time.