Thomas Tuchel painfully concedes title to Leverkusen after Bayern's latest defeat

Thomas Tuchel painfully concedes title to Leverkusen after Bayern's latest defeat

Rene Otinga
updated at March 31, 2024 at 6:08 AM
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Outgoing Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel admitted the Bundesliga title race was “obviously” over after his side’s latest defeat.

The Bavarians, who have won the last 11 titles available, fell 13 points behind runaway leaders Bayer Leverkusen after a lowly 2-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Der Klassiker.

Thomas Tuchel, Bayern, Bundesliga, Leverkusen, Concede, Dortmund
Bayern suffered another defeat on Saturday as Leverkusen went 13 points clear. Photo: Hesham Elsherif/Lars Baron.
Source: Getty Images

That result, coupled with Levekusen’s 2-1 comeback win over Hoffenheim was all that was needed for Tuchel to admit that winning the title would be a tall order.

Asked whether the defeat effectively meant the title chase was over, Tuchel said, per ESPN, “Obviously, yes,”

He went on "After today's game there is no more need to count points. How many is it now? Congratulations to Leverkusen.
"We are very disappointed because we felt we did not bring the necessary passion to win the game. It was too little from us when it came to the basics."

What next for Bayern?

Leverkusen are now just three wins away from being declared Bundesliga champions for the first time in the club’s history.

For Bayern, their season is in tatters, and the only hope of evading a trophy-less campaign for the first time since 2012 will be winning the UEFA Champions League.

To be fair, the 11-time defending champions have not been too shambolic in their performances, and some credit needs to go to Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen for being flawless this season.

While Bayern have dropped points in eight of their last 27 Bundesliga matches, Leverkusen, in contrast, do not know what defeat feels like this season, winning all their games, save for four draws.

It will be nothing short of what Leverkusen deserve, having come painfully close to lifting the Bundesliga in 2011, 2002, 2000, 1999 and 1997.

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Rene Otinga
Rene Otinga is a sports journalist with over eight years of working experience in digital media. Rene's experience includes working as a Copywriter at X News Kenya and TUKO.co.ke.
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