Leverkusen delays Bayern’s Bundesliga title celebrations and Kane set to miss the party

By Canadian Press on April 26, 2025.

BERLIN (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen postponed Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga title celebrations on Saturday, leaving the Bavarian powerhouse on the verge of winning the trophy without top-scorer Harry Kane.

Kane was shown his fifth yellow card of the season during Bayern’s 3-0 win at home over Mainz, meaning the England captain will be suspended for Bayern’s next match at Leipzig — where Bayern will likely win its 34th German league title.

Bayern needed a win over Mainz and favor from Augsburg against Leverkusen to be crowned champion on Saturday, but goals from Patrik Schick and Emiliano Buendia gave Leverkusen a 2-0 win and kept the defending champion eight points behind Bayern with three rounds remaining.

Leverkusen can still theoretically defend its first ever Bundesliga title by winning its last three games if Bayern loses its final three, but even a draw against Leipzig next weekend should be enough for Bayern, which has a far superior goal difference.

Waldemar Anton scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to give Borussia Dortmund a 3-2 win at Hoffenheim, but the result was marred by arguments because Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann was struck in the head by Carney Chukwuemeka’s knee before Anton scored. Referee Benjamin Brand allowed the goal after a VAR check found it was an accidental clash.

The win lifted Dortmund to sixth, three points behind Freiburg in fourth. Freiburg moved into the last place for Champions League qualification with a 1-0 win at Wolfsburg, for which captain Maximilian Arnold was sent off for a bad foul in the first half.

There was also stoppage time drama in Kiel, where Japanese forward Shūto Machino scored his second goal in stoppage time to give Holstein Kiel a 4-3 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach.

The win lifted Kiel off the bottom, three points behind Heidenheim in the relegation playoff place.

Eintracht Frankfurt faced Leipzig in a duel for Champions League qualification later Saturday.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Ciarán Fahey, The Associated Press