After Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund put Bayer Leverkusen 13 points clear with seven games remaining, Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel acknowledged the Bundesliga title fight was finished.
After the game, Tuchel said to Sky Germany, “Congratulations to Leverkusen.
“Leverkusen, the league leaders, had defeated Hoffenheim 2-1 at home after coming from behind, with two goals in the last minutes of the game. When asked if the title race was ended.
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Tuchel said, “Of course,” adding that Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen would win their first-ever Bundesliga title because “it’s self-evident, clear.”
“After the game today there’s nothing left to say,” said Tuchel, who will leave Bayern in the summer.
Leverkusen, who have only dropped eight points this season, can win the Bundesliga for the first time with just nine points from their remaining seven games.
Twelve times around, including the last eleven in a row, Thomas Mueller, a veteran of Bayern Munich, said to Sky:
“I’m not a professor of mathematics and I haven’t done the sums, but if we’re being honest, it’s unrealistic.”
It was Bayern’s most recent loss during a difficult week. Alonso, who was thought to be Tuchel’s replacement at Bayern, declared on Friday that he will continue as Leverkusen’s coach past this current campaign.
Tuchel said his side “did not hit a high level” during the game, saying “we shouldn’t have allowed it to happen but we did.”
Dortmund won at Munich for the first time in 3 641 days, thanks to goals from Munich-born Karim Adeyemi and defender Julian Ryerson.
The victory came during Jurgen Klopp’s tenure as manager in 2014. Tuchel criticised the “catastrophic” judgement made in the first half to deny Bayern a penalty when Mats Hummels looked to have handled the ball in the box.
Adeyemi’s goal in the tenth minute put Dortmund ahead 1-0 at the time.
Although it appeared as though the ball had ricocheted off Hummels’ foot and into his palm, VAR decided not to award a penalty.
Tuchel said he was told there was no contact with the hand, but Hummels told Sky after the match the ball had touched his fingers.
“We’ve seen penalties like that given. It was a terrible decision, a wrong decision,” said Tuchel.
“It was a Tuchel Throw In The Towel, Congratulates Leverkusen and key moment. There’s a high probability that it (a penalty) would have brought us back into the game.”