Manuel Neuer earned the player of the match award for his performance in Bayern Munich's 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League, but was tetchy post-match
Manuel Neuer post-match interview
Manuel Neuer did not want to discuss the national team(Image: Sky Sports Germany)
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Manuel Neuer was irritated by the line of questioning from reporters after he put in a stunning performance to help Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid. Bayern triumphed 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter final at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night, thanks largely to their goalkeeper.
Goals from Luis Diaz and Harry Kane had the away side 2-0 up just seconds into the second half, but their lead was far from secure. Neuer made a handful of stunning stops to keep out Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.
Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross was converted by Mbappe at the back post to make it 2-1, but Real could not beat Neuer a second time. Vinicius spurned a one-on-one chance after a mistake by Dayot Upamecano as Bayern left the Spanish capital with a one-goal advantage for next week's second leg.
Neuer was named player of the match for his brilliant performance, but was in no mood to discuss topics beyond the match itself. "Shall we bring this up now?" he replied when asked about playing at the World Cup with Germany this summer.
The 40-year-old has not played for Germany since the semi-finals of Euro 2024 and announced his international retirement that summer. He has 124 caps for his country, but has consistently stated that he won't be coming out of retirement for the World Cup.
"As I said, we’re not going to get into that here now," he bluntly stated at the Bernabeu. "Where did we play today? That was a sensational performance; we’re not talking about the national team here. I’ve said my piece and I’m focusing on FC Bayern."
"It’s important to confirm that in the second leg," he added. "Nothing else matters to me."
Manuel Neuer of FC Bayern Munich saves a shot from Kylian Mbappe
Manuel Neuer denied Kylian Mbappe on a few occasions(Image: Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)
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Yet Neuer's message clearly didn't get to his team-mates, because Germany international Aleksandar Pavlovic had a different response when asked about Neuer's possible return: "Yes, absolutely. I never say no to Manu."
Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann is currently Julian Nagelsmann's first-choice between the posts, with Alexander Nubel, who is on loan from Bayern to Stuttgart, the back-up.
Whether he goes to the World Cup or not, Bayern boss Vincent Kompany knows what he has in Neuer. Asked if he was the best goalkeeper of all time in his post-match press conference he laughed.
"You are going to get me in trouble with guys like Thibaut Courtois, whom I like very much as well," he said. "Look, everybody can have their own choice, but Neuer is one of the very few. He has been doing this at this level for a very long time. Not many goalkeepers are able to perform like this at this age.”
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