Bayern Munich lost 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, their first home defeat in ‘Der Klassiker’ in a decade, allowing Bayer Leverkusen, who came back to win 2-1 against Hoffenheim, to take a 13-point lead with seven games remaining to go. Leverkusen’s win put the onus on Bayern in Saturday’s late match, but the German champions lost at home, with Dortmund scoring goals in each half through Munich-born Karim Adeyemi and defender Julian Ryerson. Harry Kane had the ball in the net in the closing stages and gave Bayern hope of a comeback, but the England captain’s goal was disallowed for offside.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel sent “congratulations to Leverkusen”.
When asked if the title race was over, Tuchel replied “of course”, saying “it goes without saying, clearly”.
Bayern defender Joshua Kimmich was furious and publicly criticized his team.
“I wonder how we can achieve such a performance in a match like this. It is completely incomprehensible.
“In the second half you had the feeling that there was nothing at stake, it was like a friendly match.
“We should go home and question ourselves.”
Dortmund’s first league win in Munich in 3,641 days, dating back to 2014 when Jürgen Klopp was in the dugout, moved them three points clear of RB Leipzig and back into fourth place as the battle for the Champions League intensified.
The victory in Munich “took too long”, said Dortmund coach Edin Terzic.
“We were a bit lucky, but we worked hard for it,” Terzic told Sky.
Earlier on Saturday, Maximilian Baier gave Hoffenheim a 1-0 lead at Leverkusen.
But with this season’s unbeaten record in serious jeopardy, a day after Xabi Alonso promised to stay on as coach for another year, the league leaders hit back.
Robert Andrich leveled in the 88th minute before a Patrik Schick volley in stoppage time sealed another remarkable comeback victory.
Leverkusen’s late victory continued their record of victories in the final moments of this season.
Alonso’s side have scored late, beating Augsburg, Leipzig, Stuttgart in the German Cup and Qarabag twice in the Europa League.
“I was always optimistic,” Alonso told reporters. “We said at half-time that one goal is important. Everything can change in one moment.
“We have a winning mentality, which we have built up for ourselves this season.”
– Alonso ‘not going anywhere’ –
“We kept fighting and kept believing until the end,” Leverkusen goalscorer Andrich told Sky.
“I had no doubt that we would score at least one today. I knew that eventually one of our shots had to go in.”
The midfielder, who stood next to his coach as the team celebrated in front of home fans after the match, said Alonso told the players on Friday that he would stay beyond the season.
“He said he wasn’t going anywhere, he said he was going to stay here.
“The timing he chose was very good. Now we can keep pushing and hopefully achieve something great this season.”
Dortmund’s win cemented RB Leipzig’s bid for a Champions League spot after the German Cup holders played out a goalless draw at home to lowly Mainz despite their dominant possession and territory.
The home side were denied twice in the first half, with an eight-minute handball penalty overturned by VAR and a Lois Openda goal disallowed for offside.
“I can’t hear another word about the expected goals; we just didn’t take our chances,” complained Leipzig’s David Raum.
RB Leipzig and Dortmund have been regulars in the Champions League for the past decade and will face each other in the competition at the Red Bull Arena at the end of April.
New Wolfsburg manager Ralph Hasenhuettl, the former Southampton coach, claimed victory in his first game in charge, 2-0 at Werder Bremen.
Bremen were reduced to 10 men just before half-time after a last-man error by Anthony Jung. Maxence Lacroix gave the Wolves the lead shortly afterwards.
Lacroix was sent off in the second half, but Wolfsburg’s Lovro Majer scored to seal the victory.
Freiburg took a step towards European qualification in coach Christian Streich’s final season at the club, with a 3-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The Black Forest side were in complete control against struggling Gladbach, Michael Gregoritsch, Merlin Roehl and Ritsu Doan all scoring goals.
Union Berlin held Eintracht Frankfurt to a 0–0 draw and picked up a valuable point to move nine clear of the relegation spots.
(This story has not been edited by WhatsNew2Day staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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