A winning run is bound to come to an end at some point, which record champions FC Bayern München found out on Bundesliga matchday 11 in Frankfurt. The table toppers, featuring Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, were held to a 0-0 draw after having won their opening ten league games. Pep Guardiola's men came within one win of matching the European record of eleven straight wins, set by Tottenham in the 1960/61 campaign. The 29-year-old World Cup winner spoke with DFB.de after the game and explained why missing out on the record was only a side issue.
Question: Mr. Neuer, you haven't conceded a goal in your last three games and this season you've kept seven clean sheets in eleven games, with just four goals conceded. Nonetheless, the draw at Eintracht Frankfurt will not have been satisfying for you, as you dropped points for the first time this season.
Manuel Neuer: Playing against Frankfurt was tedious, as we kept running at them and couldn't find any space. We expected them to play slightly less defensively in a home game. We saw their games against Wolfsburg, Gladbach, Dortmund and Schalke on video, where they attacked a lot more. We knew they would play defensively, just like Bremen had done in their home game. We couldn't find the right means to create the necessary space for clear chances.
Question: At the end of the day, would you then say it was your own fault that you only registered a 0-0 draw?
Neuer: We didn’t have that many clear chances. We missed our biggest chance right after the restart in the second half. We always tried to create chances and when you get them, you just have to take advantage of them. Frankfurt defended cleverly and didn’t offer us any space.
Question: Skipper Philipp Lahm said he now realised that teams are starting to play even more defensively against you.
Neuer: Obviously it's frustrating when you keep running at them but then fail to create clear chances. But we play football and in football you can defend for as long as you want. In basketball or handball you are restricted to how long you can defend, before you have to go into attack. Frankfurt played entirely defensively today. They didn’t have any strikers, just defenders. It was difficult for us.
Question: A first-half goal could've broken the deadlock.
Neuer: Obviously the game becomes a bit easier with an early goal. We often manage to take an early lead, but not this time. But the longer the score remains 0-0, the more difficult it becomes, especially if the opponent starts to play for time from the 30th minute onwards, like Frankfurt did today.
Question: Last weekend you played in Cologne, during the week at VfL Wolfsburg in the cup and now just three days later here in Frankfurt. Was the schedule too stressful? Was the team tired?
Neuer: I don't think so, because we didn’t have to run that much. The problem wasn't a lack of fitness or that we would’ve needed an extra day of preparation. It was just difficult to play against Frankfurt and we couldn't find the right means to create clear chances.
Question: The 0-0 draw means you weren't able to extend the starting record.
Neuer: We already set a new starting record. Today we wanted to collect three more points, but unfortunately didn’t manage that.
Question: In some moments the team looked frustrated and on an edge.
Neuer: No, not at all. We were motivated and kept running at them, desperately looking to find a winner.
Question: You now have a few days' rest before hosting Arsenal on Wednesday in the Champions League, where you'll look to take revenge for the 2-0 defeat in London. What do you expect from the game?
Neuer: I reckon that Arsenal will have watched our game tonight and saw that we struggled against defensively minded opponents. We had a few opportunities in London as well, but unfortunately couldn't take any of them. They were looking to play counter attacking football at home. It was an unusual sight to see Arsenal play this defensively. They don't usually play like that in the Premier League.
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A winning run is bound to come to an end at some point, which record champions FC Bayern München found out on Bundesliga matchday 11 in Frankfurt. The table toppers, featuring Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, were held to a 0-0 draw after having won their opening ten league games. Pep Guardiola's men came within one win of matching the European record of eleven straight wins, set by Tottenham in the 1960/61 campaign. The 29-year-old World Cup winner spoke with DFB.de after the game and explained why missing out on the record was only a side issue.
Question: Mr. Neuer, you haven't conceded a goal in your last three games and this season you've kept seven clean sheets in eleven games, with just four goals conceded. Nonetheless, the draw at Eintracht Frankfurt will not have been satisfying for you, as you dropped points for the first time this season.
Manuel Neuer: Playing against Frankfurt was tedious, as we kept running at them and couldn't find any space. We expected them to play slightly less defensively in a home game. We saw their games against Wolfsburg, Gladbach, Dortmund and Schalke on video, where they attacked a lot more. We knew they would play defensively, just like Bremen had done in their home game. We couldn't find the right means to create the necessary space for clear chances.
Question: At the end of the day, would you then say it was your own fault that you only registered a 0-0 draw?
Neuer: We didn’t have that many clear chances. We missed our biggest chance right after the restart in the second half. We always tried to create chances and when you get them, you just have to take advantage of them. Frankfurt defended cleverly and didn’t offer us any space.
Question: Skipper Philipp Lahm said he now realised that teams are starting to play even more defensively against you.
Neuer: Obviously it's frustrating when you keep running at them but then fail to create clear chances. But we play football and in football you can defend for as long as you want. In basketball or handball you are restricted to how long you can defend, before you have to go into attack. Frankfurt played entirely defensively today. They didn’t have any strikers, just defenders. It was difficult for us.
Question: A first-half goal could've broken the deadlock.
Neuer: Obviously the game becomes a bit easier with an early goal. We often manage to take an early lead, but not this time. But the longer the score remains 0-0, the more difficult it becomes, especially if the opponent starts to play for time from the 30th minute onwards, like Frankfurt did today.
Question: Last weekend you played in Cologne, during the week at VfL Wolfsburg in the cup and now just three days later here in Frankfurt. Was the schedule too stressful? Was the team tired?
Neuer: I don't think so, because we didn’t have to run that much. The problem wasn't a lack of fitness or that we would’ve needed an extra day of preparation. It was just difficult to play against Frankfurt and we couldn't find the right means to create clear chances.
Question: The 0-0 draw means you weren't able to extend the starting record.
Neuer: We already set a new starting record. Today we wanted to collect three more points, but unfortunately didn’t manage that.
Question: In some moments the team looked frustrated and on an edge.
Neuer: No, not at all. We were motivated and kept running at them, desperately looking to find a winner.
Question: You now have a few days' rest before hosting Arsenal on Wednesday in the Champions League, where you'll look to take revenge for the 2-0 defeat in London. What do you expect from the game?
Neuer: I reckon that Arsenal will have watched our game tonight and saw that we struggled against defensively minded opponents. We had a few opportunities in London as well, but unfortunately couldn't take any of them. They were looking to play counter attacking football at home. It was an unusual sight to see Arsenal play this defensively. They don't usually play like that in the Premier League.
