LEVERKUSEN – Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel sent his congratulations to title rivals Bayer Leverkusen after the 33-time Bundesliga champions lost 2-0 at home to Borussia Dortmund on March 30.
The Bavarian giants’ first home Der Klassiker loss in a decade allowed Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen, who came back to beat Hoffenheim 2-1, to go 13 points clear with seven games remaining.
Leverkusen’s victory earlier in the day put the onus on Bayern in the late match, but they lost with Dortmund scoring goals in each half through Munich-born Karim Adeyemi and Norwegian defender Julian Ryerson.
Harry Kane had the ball in the net in the dying stages to give Bayern hope of a comeback, but the England captain’s goal was struck off for offside.
Asked if the title race was over after the match, Tuchel replied “of course”, adding “it’s clear”.
Bayern defender Joshua Kimmich was livid and publicly criticised his team.
He said: “I wonder how we can put in such a performance in a game like this. It’s completely incomprehensible.
“In the second half, you had the feeling that nothing was at stake, it was like a friendly.
“We need to go home and question ourselves.”
Dortmund’s first league win in Munich in 3,641 days, dating back to 2014 when Jurgen Klopp was in the dugout, took them three points clear of RB Leipzig and back into fourth place with the battle for the Champions League intensifying.
The win in Munich “took too long”, said Dortmund coach Edin Terzic.
“We had a bit of luck, but we worked hard for it,” Terzic told Sky.
Earlier on March 30, Maximilian Beier gave Hoffenheim a 1-0 lead at Leverkusen.
But with this season’s unbeaten record in serious danger a day after Alonso pledged to stay on as coach for another year, the league leaders hit back.
Robert Andrich levelled in the 88th minute before an injury-time Patrik Schick volley sealed another remarkable comeback win.
Leverkusen’s late win continued their record of victories in the dying moments this season.
Alonso’s side have scored late to beat Augsburg, Leipzig, Stuttgart in the German Cup and Qarabag twice in the Europa League.
“I was always optimistic,” Alonso said. “We said at half-time that one goal is important. Everything can change in one moment.
“We have a winner’s mentality – we built that for ourselves this season.”
Andrich told Sky: “We kept fighting and kept believing until the end. I had no doubt we’d score at least one today. I knew eventually one of our shots had to go in.”
The German midfielder, who stood alongside his coach as the team celebrated in front of the home fans after the match, said Alonso told the players on March 29 he would stay beyond the season.
He said: “The timing he chose was very good.
“Now we can keep pushing and hopefully achieve something great this season.” AFP
