THOMAS TUCHEL admitted the Bundesliga title race is OVER - but still backs his Bayern Munich side to beat Arsenal in the Champions League.
Bayern fell to a 2-0 home loss to Borussia Dortmund to leave Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen 13 points clear at the top of the table.
With just seven games left, Tuchel conceded the title early following the crushing defeat.
Asked if the race is now over, he said: “Obviously, yes.
"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.
READ MORE IN football
"It was too little from us when it came to the basics."
Tuchel's comments angered fans as one said: "What a loser."
Another added: "What a loser mentality."
With hope lost in the league, Bayern will now turn their attention to their quarter-final clash with Arsenal next month.
Most read in Football
CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
Tuchel - who had several showdowns with the Gunners during his reign at Chelsea - is hopefully the Germans can turn their form around.
He said: "That is not the first time that it happens to us and it's not the first time we could bounce back with a crazy good performance.
"That is basically the hope. It's a bit strange but that is actually it. If we are honest, we could not have to guarantee that if we perform today at highest level that we do this again at Heidenheim.
"This is our point for many, many months. We struggle to find this consistency. So today we didn't find and now we prepare for Heidenheim.
"We are able to beat Arsenal even if today this is hard to believe. We have very different performances within a short period of time so this is not new to us."