Bayern Munich boss Tuchel: Bundesliga race ‘obviously’ over،
Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel says the Bundesliga title race is “obviously” over after his side's defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday left them 13 points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen with seven matches remaining.
Dortmund beat Bayern 2-0 away. The classic to leave undefeated Leverkusen just three wins away from winning the Bundesliga for the first time.
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Asked if the title race was now all but over, Tuchel, who will leave at the end of the season, told Sky Sport Germany: “Obviously, yes.
“After today's match, there is no longer any need to keep score. How many are there now? Congratulations to Leverkusen.
“We are very disappointed because we felt that we did not bring the passion necessary to win the match. It was too little on our part in the essentials.”
Karim Adeyemi and Julian Ryerson scored in each half for Dortmund's first league win at Bayern in 10 years.
11-time reigning champions Bayern have realized they will likely need to win the Champions League to avoid their first trophyless season since 2012.
Bayern will face Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on April 9.
If Leverkusen win the title, it will be the first time since Dortmund won back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012 that a team other than Bayern will win it.
Bayern became the first club to win four consecutive Bundesliga titles in 2016 and the Bavarian powerhouses then took their record to 11 by winning every season since.
But Tuchel's side have dropped points in eight of their 27 league matches this season. Leverkusen have won all but four of their matches and already have more points (73) than Bayern had when they won the title last year.
Leverkusen only came close to winning it, finishing second in 2011, 2002, 2000, 1999 and 1997. Leverkusen also lost the German Cup and Champions League finals in 2002.
Leverkusen narrowly avoided their first defeat of the season on Saturday when Robert Andrich and Patrik Schick scored late to beat Hoffenheim 2-1.
Leverkusen were heading towards the end of their German record 38-game unbeaten run in their first match since coach Xabi Alonso confirmed he was staying at the club, when Andrich equalized in the 88th minute and Schick scored the winning goal in the first minute of added time.
“Every game is a huge challenge for us,” Alonso said. “We were lucky but we showed a very good mentality to continue, to continue to believe in it. We had a chance to win like against Qarabag [in the Europa League] and we did it.
“Having that faith, having a winning mentality, it’s something that you create and we created it this season.”
Information from Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
