Nerlinger: No more talk of title

Bayern Munich's director of sport Christian Nerlinger admitted their title hopes are over following defeat at Bayer Leverkusen. The loss left Bayern seven points adrift of Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund with ten games to go. The Bavarian giants have taken just 11 points from seven games since the turn of the year and Nerlinger claimed the title is out of their reach. "From today, we certainly cannot talk about the title anymore," he told Sky. "If you look at the table, we have given Dortmund a perfect assist. The title is something we are no longer dealing with." Yesterday's defeat further heaped the pressure on coach Jupp Heynckes and the doubts over his future will increase should the club fail to overturn their 1-0 first-leg deficit against FC Basel in the UEFA Champions League. "When you are coach of Bayern then you must be able to deal with such situations and show that you are in command of the situation," said Heynckes. "With my experience, I can do that." The result lifted the pressure off Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt. "We wanted this win at all costs," he said after beating Bayern for the first time in his coaching career.