Bayern Munich dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 decision to Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal after Manuel Neuer was hit with a red card in the 17th minute.
From that point, it was always going to be tough, but the Bavarians fought valiantly — something that did no go unnoticed by the club executives.
“The team played excellently, and we could’ve scored a goal before halftime. We had a lot of attacking options and we played very flexibly. It was a matter of milliseconds for Manu (Neuer), so you can’t blame him – these things happen. I’ve spoken to Vincent, he’s very calm, analysing and looking ahead. He’ll pick the team up and we’re assuming that we will then win on Saturday,” club president Herbert Hainer told FCBayern.com.
Board member for sport Max Eberl echoed the sentiments of Hainer.
“We were extremely invested in this game. The reaction the team showed following the sending-off was outstanding. I was very impressed with the way we played against the reigning champions and cup winners who took everyone apart last season. Even it’s very painful, we can draw a great deal from this defeat,” Eberl noted.
Finally, sporting director Christoph Freund, who was issued a yellow card during the match while sitting on the bench, also said that he liked what he saw from the team during a very difficult situation.
“We showed a good performance. It was an intense game and a great fight. We should have scored a goal even with ten men and had good moments in transition. This is very disappointing because we were determined to make it to Berlin. Since he was the last man, the red card was justifiable. I am very confident we will continue to improve. Obviously, that doesn’t help much today,” said Freund.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s shocking 1-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal? Then you came to the right place. Check out the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show on Patreon, Spotify or below:
