They did it again: like last weekend in Ingolstadt, record champions FC Bayern Munich grabbed a late goal to salvage a point at Hertha BSC on Bundesliga Matchday 21. Germany No1 Manuel Neuer witnessed the goal at first hand and spoke with DFB.de about the dramatic closing stages of the match and Bayern’s special mentality.
Question: Mr. Neuer, after turbulent six minutes of extra time, FC Bayern managed to salvage a point against Hertha BSC. Robert Lewandowski scored from a goalmouth-scramble for the 1-1 equaliser. You happened to be standing quite close to the action as it happened.
Manuel Neuer: I was in their penalty area trying to get the 1-1 equaliser. It is always a weird situation for the opponents when the keeper makes his way forward – and it seems to have made an impact.
Question: There was quite a lot of tension between Hertha and Bayern player’s right after the equaliser. Apparently the reason for the confrontation was that Hertha keeper Rune Jarstein kicked the ball in frustration and hit Xabi Alonso in the process.
Neuer: It is just not right to shoot the ball at a player on purpose, no matter how frustrated you are. It is about fairness. It does not set a good example as a role model. The stadium was sold out and many viewers were watching the game on TV. I think it was understandable that we complained about that.
Question: Why did Bayern struggle so much and almost lost the game?
Neuer: We started off with poor positioning, also while defending set pieces. We conceded the opener from a set piece, where we apparently were not paying attention. We then trailed Hertha for a long time. It was difficult to play well on this pitch. It may sound silly since we play on these types of pitches a lot and it is not supposed to be an excuse, but it is definitely not easy to play good football in these conditions. On the other hand, Hertha had to play under the same conditions.
Question: What does it say about your team, that you have now managed to score late goals in three games (Freiburg, Ingolstadt and Berlin) this year already?
They did it again: like last weekend in Ingolstadt, record champions FC Bayern Munich grabbed a late goal to salvage a point at Hertha BSC on Bundesliga Matchday 21. Germany No1 Manuel Neuer witnessed the goal at first hand and spoke with DFB.de about the dramatic closing stages of the match and Bayern’s special mentality.
Question: Mr. Neuer, after turbulent six minutes of extra time, FC Bayern managed to salvage a point against Hertha BSC. Robert Lewandowski scored from a goalmouth-scramble for the 1-1 equaliser. You happened to be standing quite close to the action as it happened.
Manuel Neuer: I was in their penalty area trying to get the 1-1 equaliser. It is always a weird situation for the opponents when the keeper makes his way forward – and it seems to have made an impact.
Question: There was quite a lot of tension between Hertha and Bayern player’s right after the equaliser. Apparently the reason for the confrontation was that Hertha keeper Rune Jarstein kicked the ball in frustration and hit Xabi Alonso in the process.
Neuer: It is just not right to shoot the ball at a player on purpose, no matter how frustrated you are. It is about fairness. It does not set a good example as a role model. The stadium was sold out and many viewers were watching the game on TV. I think it was understandable that we complained about that.
Question: Why did Bayern struggle so much and almost lost the game?
Neuer: We started off with poor positioning, also while defending set pieces. We conceded the opener from a set piece, where we apparently were not paying attention. We then trailed Hertha for a long time. It was difficult to play well on this pitch. It may sound silly since we play on these types of pitches a lot and it is not supposed to be an excuse, but it is definitely not easy to play good football in these conditions. On the other hand, Hertha had to play under the same conditions.
Question: What does it say about your team, that you have now managed to score late goals in three games (Freiburg, Ingolstadt and Berlin) this year already?
Neuer: In Ingolstadt we even managed to score two goals in the last minutes. In those games we struggled a lot in attack, but we always believe that we can score a goal. That does not mean that late goals are a guarantee and everyone has to be aware of that. Luck certainly plays a factor in these late goals. But in all those games we kept playing until the end and never stopped. We have a strong mentality and a great morale – everyone in this team wants to perform well, you can feel it.
Question: Do you think it has become more difficult to win Bundesliga games than to play well in the Champions League, as demonstrated in your midweek victory over Arsenal?
Neuer: The Bundesliga teams are always able to prepare well for us and they know our game inside and out. They know how they can make life difficult for us. Pal Dardai is a coach who knows how to do just that. His teams look to close down the space against us and Hertha did well in the first half. After taking the lead, they defended very cleverly. Contrary to this approach, Arsenal are a team that likes to play attacking football themselves. They offer us more room.
