It was a rather unusual start to a Bundesliga match for World Cup winner Manuel Neuer, as he was left helpless when Germany U21 international Kevin Volland scored a record-tying goal just nine seconds into the game. However, the record champions recovered to secure a 2-1 victory in Hoffenheim despite having had Jérôme Boateng sent off midway through the second half.
DFB.de interviewed the Bayern and Germany keeper after the game and discussed the fastest goal in the Bundesliga history, Polanski's missed penalty effort, the Boateng’s sending off and his overall impressions of the game in Hoffenheim.
DFB.de: Mr. Neuer, you conceded a goal just nine seconds into the game, which equals the Bundesliga record. You hadn’t even touched the ball yet and Hoffenheim were already in the lead. That's never happened to you before has it?
Manuel Neuer: No, but I prefer to concede an early goal over a late one. This way we still had enough time to turn the game around.
DFB.de: What happened right after kick-off? How did you experience Kevin Volland's 1-0 opener?
Neuer: We weren't on the pitch yet. It was a misunderstanding between Boateng and Alaba. Jérôme wanted the ball to be played into his feet, whereas David wanted to give him more time so he played it slightly ahead of him.
DFB.de: And then you slipped.
Neuer: I was expecting the ball to roll towards me more and made the first step and slipped. But maybe if I hadn’t slipped I would've been in a situation where I commit a foul because I'm closer to the player and ball. I actually prefer the way it happened over that.
It was a rather unusual start to a Bundesliga match for World Cup winner Manuel Neuer, as he was left helpless when Germany U21 international Kevin Volland scored a record-tying goal just nine seconds into the game. However, the record champions recovered to secure a 2-1 victory in Hoffenheim despite having had Jérôme Boateng sent off midway through the second half.
DFB.de interviewed the Bayern and Germany keeper after the game and discussed the fastest goal in the Bundesliga history, Polanski's missed penalty effort, the Boateng’s sending off and his overall impressions of the game in Hoffenheim.
DFB.de: Mr. Neuer, you conceded a goal just nine seconds into the game, which equals the Bundesliga record. You hadn’t even touched the ball yet and Hoffenheim were already in the lead. That's never happened to you before has it?
Manuel Neuer: No, but I prefer to concede an early goal over a late one. This way we still had enough time to turn the game around.
DFB.de: What happened right after kick-off? How did you experience Kevin Volland's 1-0 opener?
Neuer: We weren't on the pitch yet. It was a misunderstanding between Boateng and Alaba. Jérôme wanted the ball to be played into his feet, whereas David wanted to give him more time so he played it slightly ahead of him.
DFB.de: And then you slipped.
Neuer: I was expecting the ball to roll towards me more and made the first step and slipped. But maybe if I hadn’t slipped I would've been in a situation where I commit a foul because I'm closer to the player and ball. I actually prefer the way it happened over that.
DFB.de: What is your take on the penalty decision and the sending off of Jérôme Boateng?
Neuer: The ball hit his hand, but he still had his body behind his hand. I'm not sure what the exact rule says.
DFB.de: Were you playing any mental games with Eugen Polanski ahead of his penalty?
Neuer: I only told the referee that the ball wasn't laying directly on the penalty spot. Polanski repositioned the ball and then missed. I don't know if it irritated him.
DFB.de: You then got lucky to save the rebound from the post…
Neuer: … at least I went for the right corner. The ball hit the inside of the post and then bounced off my hip. David Alaba then made a good clearance and redeemed himself for the mistake in the opening minute.
DFB.de: You celebrated Lewandowski's last-minute 2-1 winner with real passion. You even ran towards the bench to celebrate with keeper coach Toni Tapalovic.
Neuer: Those were pure emotions. This victory somehow reminded me of our late win in Stuttgart in 2014, when Thiago scored the 2-1 winner in the last minute with a stunning sideways scissor-kick. It just gets more emotional when you win in the last minute with only ten men on the pitch. It was a completely different victory to last week's win against HSV.
DFB.de: How would you rate this victory in general, especially given the fact that you conceded an early opener and had a player sent off?
Neuer: I think that we took another step in the right direction today. We played a great game. Our movement was perfect, we controlled the game and had a lot of possession. Even after sleeping through the opening minute of the match, we never lost our cool. We were the better side and created clearer chances even after we were reduced to ten men.
DFB.de: Bottom-line, it was a victory through mental strength?
Neuer: No, class prevailed and it was a win according to our philosophy. We were clearly the better and more dominant side. We had numerous chances but were just unlucky in front of goal. It would've been a joke if we had only taken a point back home.
DFB.de: You've now won the opening two games, but does the team still need more time to find the perfect rhythm?
Neuer: We are picking up steam. Today once again showed that we need all our players, no matter who is on the pitch. They all put in a good performance today.
