Fatigue costing Bayern Munich

Pep Guardiola admits fatigue is taking its toll on his players as Bayern Munich's hopes of winning the treble, were dashed with his side crashing out of the German Cup on penalties against Borussia Dortmund.

Just two days after being crowned Bundesliga champions for the third season running, Bayern missed all four penalties in a 2-0 shoot-out defeat at the Allianz Arena following a 1-1 draw after extra time, ending their hopes of another domestic double.

Though they are already champions, Bayern are wary of any further slips as they face rivals, Leverkusen in a derby this weekend and then travel to Nou Camp to face Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final encounter next week.

The defeat to Dortmund was Bayern’s first in a shoot-out since the 2012 Champions League final against Chelsea and he admitted their punishing current schedule of a game every three or four days had taken a heavy toll. —AP