Bayern Munich sporting director, Max Eberl, has criticised goalkeeper Manuel Neuer following his costly mistake in their 2-2 draw against Augsburg, which saw the hosts score the fastest goal in Bundesliga history.
Augsburg took the lead just over eight seconds after kick-off when Robin Fellhauer capitalised on Neuer’s poor control of a pass.
The 40-year-old goalkeeper attempted to recover the situation but his risky decision allowed Fellhauer to find the net and set a new record in the German top flight.
“He made a mistake, took the ball poorly, then he wanted to solve it and solved it too riskily,” Eberl said, reflecting on the incident.
Despite expressing his disappointment, Eberl insisted that Neuer was not solely responsible for Bayern’s failure to secure victory.
He pointed to the team’s overall performance and missed opportunities, arguing that they should have done enough to win the match.
“We made life difficult for ourselves with a series of mistakes. Manu is involved in that, but others are too,” he added. “We had enough chances to win the game anyway.”
Fellhauer, meanwhile, explained that he had considered shooting earlier but opted for a more measured finish to ensure the opportunity was not wasted.
“I could have shot even faster. But the risk was too great that it would go wide,” he told the media.
The goal surpassed the previous Bundesliga record of nine seconds, jointly held by Kevin Volland and Karim Bellarabi.
Although Neuer’s mistake attracted attention, Eberl noted that such errors were unusual for the experienced goalkeeper, who has enjoyed a distinguished career with Bayern since joining from Schalke in 2011.
“We all know, you rarely see that from Manuel Neuer,” Eberl continued.
“I don’t know his 800 or more competitive games and I don’t know if he has made bigger blunders there. He made a mistake, took the ball poorly, then he wanted to solve it, in the end solved it too riskily.”
Neuer has won 13 Bundesliga titles and six DFB-Pokal trophies with Bayern, alongside two Champions League and two Club World Cup triumphs.
He has also made 604 appearances for the club across all competitions, recording 272 clean sheets.
The draw proved costly for Bayern, who had an opportunity to reclaim the Bundesliga summit after leaders Borussia Dortmund were held to a draw by Werder Bremen.
Bayern remain second with 11 points, two behind Dortmund, after failing to capitalise on their rivals’ dropped points.
