"Losing his edge": Spanish press cast doubt on Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer

Neuer was in Bayern’s starting line-up for Tuesday evening’s Champions League clash, despite having looked somewhat out of sorts on several occasions this season. In the first leg of the quarter-final, however, Neuer emerged as the match-winner and, thanks to several brilliant saves, was named man of the match. Yet not everything went his way.

On his return from injury last weekend against SC Freiburg, he made a mistake when the hosts went 2-0 up, failing to clear a corner properly and instead playing the ball straight into the path of opponent Lucas Höler. It was only thanks to a strong finish that Munich were able to turn the deficit into a 3-2 victory.

Neuer had also been the centre of attention in the last head-to-head clash between the Blancos and Bayern. On that occasion, after a 2-2 draw in the first leg, Bayern had taken a 1-0 lead in the return leg thanks to some superb saves by the 40-year-old, before he let a seemingly harmless shot from Vinicius Junior slip through a few minutes from time. Real striker Joselu capitalised on the opportunity and slotted home the equaliser. A few minutes later, the Spaniard even went on to score the winning goal.

Manager Vincent Kompany, however, recently made a point of standing firmly behind his number one and emphasised that he still considers Neuer to be “at the very highest level”. “At 40, you’re still young. What matters is the hunger,” explained the Belgian.

This season, Neuer has repeatedly been sidelined by long-term injuries, with substitute Jonas Urbig usually stepping in for the 40-year-old. However, Urbig has recently had to sit out himself due to a capsular injury he sustained whilst on international duty with the German national team.