Real Madrid have travelled to Munich and come away with the advantage after securing a 2 – 2 draw against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is being blamed for the outcome.
Vinicius Jnr opened the scoring for the 14-time Champions League winners before Leroy Sané and Harry Kane pulled Bayern back. The Bavarians then let their lead slip and Vinicius scored from the spot to hand Madrid the advantage ahead of the second leg in Santiago Bernabeu next week.
Manuel Neuer had a slipup in the buildup to Vini Jnr’s goal and it was evident from how he reacted after the ball hit the back of the net. His fans are not piling on him, but Michael Owen and Steve McManaman, two former Real Madrid stars, are.
McManaman claimed Neuer was “flat-footed” and did not do enough to close down Vini as he ran through on goal following a brilliant through ball from midfield maestro Toni Kroos. Owen, on the other hand, questioned Neuer’s indecision to go after some balls which he believed could have changed the trajectory of the game for Bayern. He also blamed defender Kim Min-jae for a number of plays that went in Madrid’s favour.
What has been said:
McManaman: “I’d question the goalkeeper. Toni Kroos, space galore! The goalie comes then stops. Does he commit, should he commit? This was beautiful, though. What a ball through the line from Toni Kroos and Vinicius Junior is onto it.
“Neuer is flat-footed and Vinicius opened the body up and rolled it past the goalkeeper. He was already preparing himself, Vinicius Junior, how he shapes his body. I thought Neuer should have come and come out strong, right out to his [Vinicius Junior’s] feet.
“Real Madrid are dangerous like that. Once they go, you can’t stop them. That ball over the top, Real Madrid are two on one. Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham on Kim Min-jae. That’s why they have to be careful, Bayern. Yes, they want to get back into the game, but they can’t leave themselves open at the back.”
Owen: “It was a typical Real Madrid performance, wasn’t it? Bayern Munich had the best of it for the first 20 minutes or so and then bang, they get caught sleeping, make a mistake and all of a sudden they’re 1-0 behind. There was a couple of things. The goalkeeper starts way too deep. Neuer is normally a player that likes patrolling behind there. But really it’s Kim who just comes in at a rate of knots. I don’t know what he’s doing there.”
