His strong performance must have been particularly satisfying for the 40-year-old, given that the Spanish press had previously expressed serious doubts as to whether Bayern should even include him in the starting line-up, given his somewhat shaky performances of late.
In the run-up to the clash, the German record champions’ goalkeeper was the subject of a feature in the Spanish sports newspaperMarca entitled: “Neuer is losing his edge”. Among other things, the article stated that the former national team goalkeeper was travelling to Madrid “with many question marks hanging over him”.
Neuer had also been the centre of attention in the last direct clash between the Blancos and Bayern. On that occasion, after a 2-2 draw in the first leg, the FCB had taken a 1-0 lead in the return leg thanks to strong saves by the 40-year-old, before he let a seemingly harmless shot from Vinicius Junior bounce past him just a few minutes from time. Real striker Joselu took full advantage and slotted home to level the scores. A few minutes later, the Spaniard even went on to score the winning goal.