Manuel Neuer Addresses Costly Error in Bayern Munich’s Champions League Semifinal Loss to Real Madrid at Santiago Benabeu
The 38-years-old has broken his silence following his error that proved costly for Bayern Munich in their Champions League semifinal clash against Real Madrid.
Bayern were on the brink of securing a spot in the final against Borussia Dortmund, leading Madrid 3-2 on aggregate after a spectacular goal by Alphonso Davies.
Neuer delivered several outstanding saves throughout the match, committed a crucial error, fumbling Vinicius Junior’s shot into the path of Joselu, who capitalized on the opportunity to level the tie in the 88th minute.
With extra time looming, the hopes of Bayern Munich were dashed when Joselu netted an injury-time winner.
Neuer said:
‘Anyone who’s ever played football knows how I’m feeling right now.’
‘That we’ve been knocked out in the closing stages, having led 1-0 until the 85th minute, it’s extremely bitter.
‘We’d taken one step to London, we saw ourselves in the final and now I’m lost for words. It’s extremely bitter for me.
‘I expected the ball to land a bit differently to my chest but it went a bit higher and it was difficult to get a hold of it. And then Joselu was there quicker and it was difficult to defend.
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‘For a goalkeeper who’s been around for a while it’s something I’ve already experienced, but the goal was brutal.’
Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel, meanwhile, described Real Madrid’s first goal as a result of a ‘very unusual mistake’ from Neuer.
‘We are almost through, it’s almost there and there was a very unusual mistake from our best player for the equaliser then we conceded the second one in stoppage time.’
‘When you are through in the 88th minute you see the end of the tunnel. Was it our very best match? No. But we didn’t need to be perfect, we just needed to be good enough in this moment.
‘In the moment when we had one player out with cramp, we conceded a goal we never usually would with our goalkeeper. You have to accept the result in the end.’
Real Madrid, who have lifted the trophy 14 times, will take on Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium.
