Manuel Neuer: "We believe in ourselves"

Manuel Neuer had to pick the ball out of his own net in FC Bayern München's 1-0 defeat to Atlético Madrid in their UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg. In an interview with DFB.de, the World Cup winner expressed that he remains confident. The 30-year-old World Goalkeeper of the Year spoke about the goal he conceded and his reasons for optimism going into next Tuesday's return leg.

Question: Mr Neuer, how do you assess the result? The away goal evaded you…

Manuel Neuer: We weren't aggressive or brave enough in the first half. We did a better job in the second period and created a host of goalscoring chances but unfortunately didn't score any of them. If we'd played like that for the whole game, I don't think we would have lost 1-0.

Question: How did the team start so sloppily despite knowing that they'd need to be on it from the very first minute?

Neuer: We're aware of that every time we play, regardless of whom we're playing against. Atlético attacked from the very start but sat back after taking the lead. We were well prepared for that and knew what to expect here.

Question: You can't have been pleased with Saul Niguez's solo effort…

Neuer: We experienced a solo goal like that against Juventus, and it happened again here. We need to defend those sorts of situations better – we had him outnumbered. Despite that, the second half gives us optimism, not least of all because we created chances.

Question: What else gives you optimism?

Neuer: We believe in ourselves. We didn't score today but we'll have even more chances in Munich than we did in the second half today. That should hopefully be enough to score at least two goals.

Question: How surprised were you that Franck Ribéry and Thomas Müller weren't in the starting line-up?

Neuer: That's the manager's business. That's just how it was today but we still had great players on the pitch.

Question: Could we say that the team were bit shocked after conceding?

Neuer: No, we weren't shocked. You're always annoyed after conceding but I don't think it dazed us at all. It's no secret that Atlético started strongly. They do that frequently and we were prepared for it.

Question: Atlético Madrid appear to be the sort of team who can play for the result they need. How do you see that?

Neuer: Yes, they're ice cold and set themselves up well. They always know their opponent and they know what to expect. They were well prepared and did their job well.

Question: How strong do you expect Atlético to be on the counter attack in the return leg?

Neuer: They're a counter-attacking side. They've scored a lot of goals on the break, especially in their domestic league. We need to be aware of that. It should be good for us that we can water the pitch at home and create conditions that allow us to move the ball around faster. I'll be able to come out to cut out long balls as well. Here, the ball stuck a bit more, which causes problems for goalkeepers when you want to come out of your goal.

Question: If you win the league on Saturday against Mönchengladbach, will it give you some extra momentum for the second leg?

Neuer: We certainly want to win against Gladbach but we're not planning any celebrations. Instead, we want to focus on the Champions League.