Is the Bundesliga title race over already? Leverkusen don't think so

BERLIN (AP) — The Bundesliga title race appears to be run already before the contenders meet next weekend.

Defending champion Bayer Leverkusen was unable to keep pace with league leader Bayern Munich on Saturday as it was held scoreless in Wolfsburg less than 24 hours after Bayern eased to a 3-0 win over Werder Bremen.

It leaves Leverkusen eight points behind Bayern before it hosts the Bavarian powerhouse for a top-two meeting next Saturday. Leverkusen had been hoping to use that game to cut the gap to three points, but the slip-up at Wolfsburg means it will take an unprecedented collapse from Bayern for Leverkusen to defend its first ever league title.

No team has ever made up such a gap at this stage of the Bundesliga season to become champion.

"The gap has become far too big, unfortunately," Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukáš Hrádecký said. "That's the difference from last season: the games that we're drawing now, we won last year. That's where the eight-point gap comes from, unfortunately. After this weekend, it won't be any easier to reach our goal, our dream again."

Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso faced questions about why he made eight changes to the team that played against Cologne in the German Cup on Wednesday, and why star player Florian Wirtz was only introduced for the final half hour in Wolfsburg.

"It's easy to analyze a game after it," the Spanish coach said. "But yeah, he played a big game over 120 minutes (against Cologne). We wanted to help Flo. The idea was we needed him in the second half, his impact was good."

Asked about the eight-point gap and next weekend’s game, Alonso said his view hadn't changed.

"We're playing FC Bayern at home, top game, top atmosphere. We're focusing on ourselves, what we can achieve, our goals. We have a bit of time to prepare. We just had four busy weeks with midweek games, so we need a bit of a break," Alonso said. "No major worries, we carry on."

The draw against Wolfsburg was the eighth match from 21 rounds in which Leverkusen dropped points this season. Alonso's team was undefeated last season with just six draws in 34 rounds.

"The goal is to win," Alonso said in response to another question about the eight-point gap. "You ask me again about the table. I try not to think too much about that. We're playing Bayern at home, we'll try to win."

Alonso added that his players will be fresher next weekend than they were in Wolfsburg.

Leverkusen reached the Champions League knockout phase directly, so can enjoy a rare week off, whereas Bayern faces a visit to Celtic on Wednesday for the first leg of their Champions League playoff, with the return leg in Munich the following Tuesday.

Hrádecký hasn't given up on the Bundesliga title yet.

"The gap has grown," the Finnish goalkeeper said. "If we win next week, it could still work out. We're still alive. But we need a win now."

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer