Thomas Tuchel conceded Bayern Munich will be relinquishing their Bundesliga crown after losing 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
With runaway league leaders Bayer Leverkusen having produced another one of their now characteristic late comebacks to beat Hoffenheim 2-1 at home earlier in the day, Bayern - with Harry Kane back from an ankle injury to lead their line - knew that nothing less than a win over their arch-rivals would do.
However, Karim Adeyemi's well-taken strike opened the scoring after just 10 minutes, before Julian Ryerson doubled the visitors' lead with just seven minutes left to play as Dortmund won at the Allianz for the first time in almost exactly a decade.
Kane did head home late on, only for it to be ruled out for offside by the Video Assistant Referee as Munich suffered just a second home loss in the league this season.
As a result, Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen are 13 points clear with seven games remaining and now need just three more wins to be confirmed German champions for the first time in the club's history.
Asked if the title race is over, Tuchel told Sky Germany: "Yes, definitely. Congratulations to Leverkusen."
Skysports