Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has ordered his players not to “mope” as they attempt to finish a difficult season with a Champions League final trip to Wembley.
The reigning Bundesliga champions head for promoted Heidenheim on Saturday with Tuchel having admitted after last weekend’s 2-0 home defeat by Borussia Dortmund that their hopes of securing a 12th successive league title are over.
Leaders Bayer Leverkusen are 13 points clear of second-placed Bayern with just seven games remaining, but Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final clash with Arsenal represents an opportunity to rescue the campaign.
Tuchel told a press conference: “We want competition and the opportunity to make things happen tactically. You need alternatives for that. I’m really unhappy with the way we played against Dortmund.
“There’s no reason to hide away and mope. We’ll carry on, we tried to push the team again. We’ll carry on to the end with our heads held high.
“As unsatisfactory as the season has been, we still have one goal, which is to get to Wembley. We have to give it our all every day.
“We can’t let our conviction and ambition drop even one per cent. We’re unhappy with the situation, but we’ll do everything we can to squeeze the maximum out of it.”
Heidenheim, who lost 4-2 in the reverse fixture in November having fought back from Harry Kane’s first-half double to level at 2-2, will host Bayern in the Bundesliga for the first time, and Tuchel knows that will present its own challenges.
He said: “We need to show a reaction, do the basics again. That’s how we put the Dortmund performance behind us.
“We’ll see a classic David v Goliath game tomorrow, an emotional stadium that supports the home team. Of course, there’s a game after this that we’re looking at.
“If we want to achieve our Champions League dream, we have to deliver top performances every day, tighten up every day. We’re not going to let anyone off the hook.”
Bayern will be without the injured Manuel Neuer, Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman, Noussair Mazraoui and Aleksandar Pavlovic for the game at the Voith-Arena, and all five remain doubts to face the Gunners.
The hosts, who sit in 11th place, will have to do without the suspended Nikola Dovedan, who has been handed a two-match ban following his dismissal in last Sunday’s 3-3 draw at Stuttgart, while fellow midfielder Norman Theuerkauf is ill.
Head coach Frank Schmidt told a press conference: “Bayern Munich, as the German record champions, is of course something special for the club and the fans with their many outstanding players and as a club as a whole.
“But in the end it’s like this: we have seven match days to go and nothing has changed in our approach. We still need points and we want to get them as quickly as possible.”
Borussia Dortmund 5-1 Augsburg: Departing Reus stars in perfect PSG dress rehearsal
Borussia Dortmund demolished Augsburg 5-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday in a perfect dress rehearsal ahead of next week's Champions League semi-final return leg at Paris Saint-Germain.
Dortmund, who face PSG on Tuesday after their 1-0 first leg win in Germany earlier this week, enjoyed a whirlwind start with three goals in the first 29 minutes.
Youssoufa Moukoko struck either side of Doneyll Malen's 20th minute goal to quickly put the game to bed.
Augsburg cut the deficit in the 32nd minute with Ruben Vargas but the visitors restored their three-goal cushion through Marco Reus, who will leave the club after 12 years at the end of the season, in the 34th.
He then delivered his second assist of the game for Felix Nmecha to make it 5-1 in the 64th.
Reus, aged 34 years and 339 days, is the oldest player to be directly involved in three-or-more goals in a Bundesliga match since Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery against Wolfsburg in March 2019.
Dortmund, who have secured a Champions League spot for next season, are in fifth place on 60 points, three behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig.
Stuttgart 3-1 Bayern Munich: Tuchel's side slump to defeat as Real Madrid await
Stuttgart scored two late goals to snatch a 3-1 win over Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Saturday, spoiling the Bavarians' preparations for their Champions League semi-final return leg against Real Madrid.
Bayern, who are in second place on 69 points, two ahead of Stuttgart in third with two games left, face Real in Spain on Wednesday after their 2-2 draw in Munich.
Stuttgart took a deserved lead through Leonidas Stergiou's flick over keeper Manuel Neuer just before the half hour mark after missing three golden chances.
Bayern levelled with a penalty from Harry Kane in the 37th minute - his 36th league goal of the season.
Kane is now five goals behind the all-time Bundesliga scoring record for a season of 41 goals set by Robert Lewandowski in 2021.
Substitute Jeong Woo-yeong, however, beat Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer at the far post in the 84th minute to put the hosts back in front before Silas sealed the win with a low drive in stoppage time.
Stuttgart have now won 21 Bundesliga games this season, matching their all-time club record from 1991-92 and 2006-07.
Ipswich Town promoted to Premier League after 22-year absence
Ipswich Town secured their return to the Premier League after a 22-year absence by seeing off Huddersfield Town 2-0 at Portman Road on Saturday.
Kieran McKenna's side, who only earned promotion from League One last year, required a point on the final day of regular-season fixtures.
Wes Burns put Ipswich on their way with a 27th-minute strike, before Omar Hutchinson sealed the deal early in the second period.
As it turned out, even a loss would have seen Town go up as Leeds failed to pick up the three points they needed in a 2-1 loss to Southampton.
Joel Piroe cancelled out Adam Armstrong's goal, but Will Smallbone restored the visitors' lead before half-time at Elland Road and at it remained that way.
Leeds will now face Norwich City in the play-offs after the Canaries dropped from fifth to sixth with a 1-0 loss to Birmingham City.
West Brom's 3-0 win over Preston North End ensured they finished the season in fifth, meaning a play-off semi-final date with Southampton.
Despite their home win over Norwich, Birmingham joined Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town in being relegated to the third tier.
That is due to Plymouth Argyle defeating top-six chasers Hull City 1-0, while Sheffield Wednesday eased to a 2-0 victory at Sunderland.
Rotherham's relegation was confirmed last month, while Huddersfield were effectively already down barring a miraculous set of results on the final day.
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