Kane missed Bayern’s win over Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday because of a minor ankle issue sustained in training with England last week.

He took part in the team’s training session in Munich before the squad traveled to the Spanish capital for Tuesday’s match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

“He is a goal scorer. He is a great player,” Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior said Monday about Kane. “But Bayern is a great team and has many players who switch positions and make it difficult for us. Whoever plays, it will be tough. We will need to be well prepared.”

Madrid and Bayern are meeting in the knockout stage of the Champions League for the sixth time in the past 14 seasons, with 15-time champion Madrid having won four of five two-legged matchups with Bayern since the 2011-12 season: once in the quarterfinals and three times in the semifinals, most recently in 2024. Bayern won in the semifinals in 2012 after a penalty shootout.

“Bayern is an unbelievable team, we’ve seen what it can do this season,” Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said. “We have a lot of respect for them. They’re having an exceptional season. I think Bayern has been the most consistent side in Europe this season. They’re fearless, aggressive, very focused defensively, with an unbelievable striker in Harry Kane.”

Bayern is unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions, with 11 wins, while Madrid is coming off a 2-1 loss at Mallorca on Saturday that hurt its Spanish league title hopes.

“We don’t think about not winning the tie and there is only one possible scenario, which is to beat Bayern and get through the tie,” Arbeloa said. “It’s the only thing we want and the only thing we believe in. All our energy is in the game against Bayern.”

Arbeloa also downplayed criticism of Kylian Mbappé, who has been questioned by some in Madrid recently. Mbappé is coming off a controversial knee injury that reduced his playing time with the Spanish club.

“Mbappé knows perfectly well what Real Madrid is,” Arbeloa said. “I have no doubt about that. He’s someone who has dreamed of being a Real Madrid player. We’ve all seen images of Kylian Mbappé wearing the Real Madrid jersey, dreaming of becoming a Real Madrid player. What he has done to come here wasn’t easy.”

In his first game since his saves helped see the Bosnian team past Italy in the World Cup qualifying playoffs, Vasilj faced eight shots on target and stood out with a double save, though it came after he’d given the ball away. The only one that went in was a towering header from Union striker Andrej Ilic at a corner.

St. Pauli had earlier taken the lead when Mathias Pereira Lage delivered a fierce long-distance volley to open the scoring, and created little after that.

St. Pauli held on for the final three minutes with 10 men after its Australian captain Jackson Irvine was sent off for two yellow cards in the space of eight minutes, both for late tackles.

Even a point for St. Pauli was bad news for Wolfsburg, which is on course for an historic first relegation from the Bundesliga after losing 6-3 to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. A fixture in the Bundesliga since 1997, Wolfsburg is now four points adrift of any chance of safety.

The bottom two teams, Wolfsburg and Heidenheim, are relegated directly to the second division. The team in 16th, currently St. Pauli, goes into a two-leg playoff against the third-place team from the second tier.

Union stays 10th.

Cologne holds Frankfurt to 2-2 draw

Cologne interim coach René Wagner oversaw a comeback to salvage a point in his first game but couldn’t end the team’s winless run, now at eight Bundesliga games.

Three goals in four minutes lit up the game, but Cologne’s Alessio Castro-Montes had the last word in a 2-2 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Frankfurt seemed in full control after Jonathan Burkardt opened the scoring in the 66th and his teammate Arnaud Kalimuendo added a second in the 69th, but Jakub Kaminski scored a smart solo goal seconds after the game resumed to revive Cologne.

Straight after coming off the bench, Castro-Montes bundled the ball into the net from close range to level the score in the 83rd.

The draw is more helpful to 15th-place Cologne, which ends the day having preserved a two-point gap to St. Pauli. Seventh-place Frankfurt is 10 points off Bayer Leverkusen in sixth.

Then Yussuf Poulsen scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time for Leipzig to draw with Bayern Munich 3-3 and postpone the Bundesliga leader’s party on Saturday.

“I fully feel like a champion, just we’re not yet,” Bayern veteran Thomas Müller said.

Bayern is all but certain to win the championship. Bayer Leverkusen can still mathematically catch the Bavarian powerhouse and defend its title by winning its remaining three games while making up a goal difference of 30 goals — if Bayern loses its final two matches.

Kane has been forced to wait for a first major trophy after a career of near-misses and disappointments. The 31-year-old Bayern star had to watch his teammates play without him against Leipzig because of an accumulation of yellow cards.

Leipzig made the better start and deservedly led at halftime thanks to goals from Benjamin Šeško and Lukas Klostermann, leaving the suspended Kane sitting stone-faced in the stands.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany evidently found the right words during the break.

Kane’s compatriot Eric Dier pulled one back with a header to Michael Olise’s corner in the 62nd, and Olise equalized a minute later after the home team’s sloppy play from the restart.

Leipzig goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt denied Leroy Sané and Leon Goretzka, and Konrad Laimer headed over against his former side as Bayern created a host of chances while the rain streamed down.

Sané finally made one count with a fierce shot inside the far post in the 83rd.

Bayern fans set off fireworks as they celebrated and Kane was ready to run onto the field to join his teammates until Xavi sent Poulsen through for the final say.

“We’re almost champions,” Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said after what he described as “a spectacle.”

Bayern might have to wait only a day when Leverkusen plays at Freiburg on Sunday.

Dortmund pushing for Champions League

Serhou Guirassy and Karim Adeyemi both scored twice and Borussia Dortmund’s late-season revival under new coach Niko Kovač continued with a 4-0 win over Wolfsburg.

Guirassy got the home team off the mark in the third minute and took his season tally to 19 in the 59th. Only Kane has more in the Bundesliga, though nine of his 24 goals were penalties. Only Leverkusen’s Patrick Schick has scored more from play (19) than Guirassy (17).

The Guinea star’s second goal settled his team. Adeyemi duly scored Dortmund’s third in the 69th and grabbed another four minutes later

Dortmund’s fourth straight win across all competitions lifted the team to fourth place, the last for Champions League qualification. Freiburg will hope to reclaim it on Sunday.

Other results

There was another spectacle at Borussia Mönchengladbach where Hoffenheim drew 4-4 but stayed in danger of relegation.

Union Berlin came from two goals down to draw with Werder Bremen 2-2, and Stuttgart won at St. Pauli 1-0 thanks to a late goal from Nick Woltemade, who earlier had a penalty saved by Nikola Vasilj.

St. Pauli finished with nine players with Siebe Van der Heyden sent off for a second yellow card for conceding the penalty, followed by Vasilj with two yellow cards in quick succession in stoppage time for complaining.

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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.

Kane has famously failed to win any major trophy in a career of individual awards and runner-up medals. The first looks set to come while he’s watching from the stands.

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.

Bayern needed patience against Mainz, with Leroy Sané opening the scoring in the 27th followed by Michael Elise in the 40th.

There was still time before the break for Kane to get booked for failing to release the ball after committing a foul.

Goalkeeper Jonas Urbig denied Nadiem Amiri a Mainz response before Sané hit the post at the other end. Eric Dier sealed the result late with a header to Olise’s corner, seconds after Thomas Müller went on for his 500th Bundesliga appearance.

Dortmund drama

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.

Gladbach came from 2-0 down and again to level the score 3-3 before Machino’s late winner.

It 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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Ekitiké sealed the victory with the third goal after setting up Robin Koch for the second, helping Frankfurt consolidate its position as the third-best team in Germany and the likely Champions League qualification that will bring.

The league’s top four qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.

Ekitiké has taken on more responsibility since strike partner Omar Marmoush left in January for Manchester City, helping Frankfurt show it’s just as competitive without the Egypt forward who scored 15 goals in 17 league appearances before his departure.

Ekitiké scored for Frankfurt to draw at Tottenham 1-1 in the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinals and now has 21 goals across all competitions this season.

Jean-Matteo Bahoya opened the scoring Sunday on a counterattack in the 10th minute and Ekitiké laid the ball off for Koch to double the lead before the break.

The French forward sealed the win in the 71st. Ekitiké received a long kickout from goalkeeper Kaua Santos, then the ball fell to Fares Chaibi, who sent the ball through for Nathaniel Brown to run onto and cross for Ekitiké’s simple finish.

Frankfurt hosts Tottenham in the second leg on Thursday.

Stuttgart’s home trouble continues

Oliver Burke scored in the last minute for Werder Bremen to win 2-1 and condemn Stuttgart to its fifth consecutive Bundesliga loss at home.

Stuttgart was holding on following the debatable sending off of Nick Woltemade with his second yellow card in the 56th minute, but it looked like the home team had done enough for the draw until Leonardo Bittencourt set up Burke to score his second goal in the 90th minute.

Leonidas Stergiou got Stuttgart off to a good start in the 19th before Burke equalized in the 32nd.

Bremen pushed harder for the winner in the final minutes after Woltemade’s sending off, and Burke duly rewarded the visitors’ efforts. 

It’s the first time Stuttgart has lost five Bundesliga games in a row at home.

Stuttgart finished runner-up last season but has lost as many games, 11, as it has won this season. Sebastian Hoeneß’ team is five points off the European qualification places with five rounds remaining.

Bayern Munich leads by six points from defending champion Bayer Leverkusen after its 2-2 draw with Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

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Bayern was on course to start thinking of title celebrations as substitutes Serge Gnabry and Raphaël Guerreiro both scored within four minutes of each other to cancel out Maximilian Beier’s opener for Dortmund after the break.

But Dortmund defender Waldemar Anton equalized on a rebound in the 75th after Jonas Urbig saved Serhou Guirassy’s acrobatic effort.

Harry Kane missed a big chance for Bayern, though he wasn’t the only one as Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel had a busy match.

“A game of missed opportunities,” said Thomas Müller after making a rare start for Bayern. 

The 35-year-old Müller captained the side and was pushed onto the field by teammates before the match to receive fans’ applause after the club announced last week that his contract won’t be renewed at the end of the season.

The draw stopped Bayern from capitalizing on defending champion Bayer Leverkusen’s 0-0 draw with Union Berlin earlier, as the Bavarian powerhouse stayed six points clear at the top with five rounds remaining.

It’s just a little bump for Bayern, which next needs to come from a goal behind at Inter Milan in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday. Munich is hosting the final in May.

Leverkusen also drops points

Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz returned after five weeks out but could not inspire his team to pick up anything more than a scoreless draw against Union.

Wirtz couldn’t return soon enough for Leverkusen, which was knocked out of the Champions League – by Bayern – and the German Cup – by third-division Arminia Bielefeld – while the 21-year-old player recovered from an ankle injury.

Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso sent him on in the 57th minute and he made an immediate impact, setting up a chance for Exequiel Palacios.

Union forward David Preu was booked on his Bundesliga debut for a bad challenge on Wirtz’s ankle in the 83rd. Wirtz carried on and remained central to all of the home team’s attacking play.

Union goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow was alert to a Wirtz cross before Granit Xhaka fired Leverkusen’s last chance over from a free kick.

“We’ve dropped too many points at home. I don’t know why,” said Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, whose side completed an unprecedented unbeaten league and cup double last season. “As of now, we’re a point closer (to Bayern) but of course we’d hoped it would be three.”

Union’s fifth straight game without defeat handed the initiative to Bayern. 

“It’s difficult now, but the way I know Leverkusen, they’ll finish the season well. You never know in football,” Union captain Christopher Trimmel said of Leverkusen’s title chances.

Also Saturday, Hoffenheim defeated Mainz 2-0 to leave Leipzig in fourth place, the last for Champions League qualification, Freiburg came from behind to beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1, Augsburg won at Bochum 2-1 and St. Pauli won a relegation battle at bottom side Holstein Kiel 2-1.

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All three goals came from outside the box in a display that put Leipzig’s recent bad away run to bed and lifted it into fourth place, equal on points with the team above it, Eintracht Frankfurt.

Leipzig’s last away win was on Dec. 7, a run of seven winless matches.

Loïs Openda got the scoring started after 11 minutes. Wolfsburg lost possession in front of its own penalty box and Openda rifled a low shot inside the far post.

A defensive mishap led to a similar second 15 minutes later. Leipzig took possession when a defender slipped and Xavi Simons made space for himself on the edge of the box and his low shot beat the goalkeeper in the exact same place.

The third in the second half was the pick of the bunch. Baku teed up Simons nicely and the Dutch international side-footed in a sublime curler from 25 meters out.

Kilian Fischer pulled a goal back for Wolfsburg — becoming the 16th different player to score for the club this season, a club record — and Andreas Skov Olsen brought the home side right back into the game with 16 minutes left.

But it could not find an equalizer and it remains in 12th place, having lost four games in a row.

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Injuries and other issues affecting regular goalkeepers Moritz Nicolas and Jonas Omlin have given the Luxembourg keeper a surprise starting spot for Champions League-chasing Gladbach over the last month.

One day before his 19th birthday, Cardoso was on course for his fourth game without conceding a goal Sunday – and his fourth win with Gladbach – until Dapo Afolayan hit a fierce shot from long range in the 85th minute.

Cardoso leaped at full stretch but couldn’t get a hand to it. Gladbach had been leading through a header from defender Ko Itakura.

The draw is a setback for Gladbach, which stayed sixth in the Bundesliga. It’s two points off Mainz in fourth, the last of the Champions League qualification spots. St. Pauli is 15th in the 18-team league.

Also Sunday, Benedict Hollerbach scored the only goal of the game as Union Berlin extended its unbeaten run to four matches with a 1-0 win at home to Wolfsburg.

Hollerbach reacted quickly to reach the ball first and score in the 62nd minute after Leopold Querfeld sent a looping header over the top of the defense.

Union stayed 13th and Wolfsburg 12th.

Four days after a shock German Cup semifinal loss to third-division Arminia Bielefeld, Leverkusen created few meaningful chances until substitute Buendia curled a shot from outside the penalty area in off the post in the 1-0 win.

Leverkusen restored a six-point gap to league leader Bayern Munich, which beat Augsburg 3-1 on Friday. Six games remain.

Last-minute goals were a headline feature of Leverkusen’s Bundesliga-winning campaign last season, but a team once viewed as near unbeatable was largely second best to 16th-placed Heidenheim. At times, Leverkusen seemed headed for what would have been a fifth loss in seven games across competitions.

Chukwuemeka ends long wait for a goal

Carney Chukwuemeka got his first start and first goal since joining Borussia Dortmund on loan from Chelsea as Freiburg was beaten 4-1.

After Karim Adeyemi’s goal gave Dortmund the lead, Chukwuemeka hit a shot which took a deflection off a defender and looped over the goalkeeper.

After injuries disrupted Chukwuemeka’s development at Chelsea, the goal was his first in any competition for over a year.

Serhou Guirassy and Jamie Gittens also scored in what was one of Dortmund’s most commanding performances since Niko Kovac took over as coach just over two months ago.

Dortmund is up to eighth in the Bundesliga standings — one place behind Freiburg and four points off the Champions League places — ahead of its Champions League quarterfinal with Barcelona on Wednesday.

New Leipzig coach gets a win

After a German Cup semifinal loss in his first game, Zsolt Low got his first win as the Leipzig coach, 3-1 over Hoffenheim.

Initially, it seemed Low’s Leipzig was heading for another loss when a blunder by goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi allowed Tom Bischof to score the opening goal for Hoffenheim. However, Benjamin Sesko headed Leipzig level then a red card for Hoffenheim defender Leo Ostigard put Leipzig in control.

Ridle Baku gave Leipzig the lead just before halftime and Yussuf Poulsen made it 3-1 late.

Werder Bremen surprised Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 with a first-half header from Oliver Burke and a late goal from Romano Schmid to seal the win.

Ahead of its Europa League quarterfinal with Tottenham on Thursday, Frankfurt’s fourth loss in its last six Bundesliga games means it stays third, a distant 20 points off Bayern. Bremen was 10th.

Ermedin Demirovic scored a hat trick as Stuttgart swept aside relegation-threatened Bochum 4-0. Mainz hit a setback in its bid to qualify for the Champions League, drawing with last-placed Holstein Kiel 1-1.

Augsburg came into the match unbeaten in its last 11 games and it took the lead thanks to a bit of quick thinking after half an hour. With the Bayern defence static, Jeffrey Gouweleeuw took a quick free kick and Dimitrios Giannoulis controlled the ball with his instep before hammering it into the roof of the for his first Bundesliga goal.

However, the home side was not ahead for long. Jamal Musiala made it 1-1 three minutes before halftime when he kept his feet in a crowded penalty box and fired home after good work from Leroy Sané on the left.

The game changed in the 59th minute when Cédric Zesiger was sent off for fouling Kane. A minute later, the Englishman scored with a diving header to put the visitor ahead. It was his 23rd goal of the league season.

An own goal from Chrislain Matsima made it 3-1 in stoppage time.

The only bad news for Bayern was a second-half injury to Musiala. The forward limped from the field with what looked like a hamstring injury.

Bayer Leverkusen can cut Bayern’s lead back to six when it plays away at third-from-bottom Heidenheim on Saturday.

Augsburg was eighth in the standings.

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