'He has been at fault for a number of goals this season' - Didi Hamann takes aim at Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer

Former Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann has delivered scathing criticism of Manuel Neuer's performances for Bayern Munich this season, holding him accountable for some of the goals they have conceded. Neuer retired from the Germany national team following the European Championship last summer, but has retained his place as Bayern's first-choice between the posts following the appointment of Vincent Kompany ahead of the start of the season.

Neuer has managed to keep seven clean sheets in succession, with his total tally going up to 11 for the season in 17 games across all competitions. The streak started after a rather tough few matches as Neuer conceded three goals in a Bundesliga encounter against Frankfurt and then let Barcelona run riot in a harrowing 4-1 defeat over a month ago.

The 38-year-old is a goalkeeper who loves having the ball at his feet to get involved when his team plays out of the back, while also often rushing off his line to intercept counterattacks, and Hamann believes that his goalkeeping style has cost his team this season.

Speaking on Sky Sport (h/t Sport BILD), Hamann said: "There have been several situations this year where Neuer was responsible for goals or where he was lucky, like in Bochum when Kim Min-jae cleared the ball off the line. That means when you play balls over the top of the defence, his timing let him down on one or two occasions."

The former Liverpool defender also analysed Neuer's performance against PSG in the Champions League. "On Tuesday he had two or three situations where the whole stadium held its breath and there was no need. It was absolutely unnecessary to take such a risk there."

Lastly, he had some piece of advice for the Borussia Dortmund forwards ahead of this weekend's Der Klassiker. "It’s definitely something when you have four fast players up front, where you’ll get one or two chances.”

On the other end of the spectrum were words from iconic goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who had nothing but praise for Neuer after he kept another clean sheet in Bayern's 1-0 win over PSG.

"He is brilliant! Seven games without conceding a goal, that's a fantastic stat," Schmeichel told BILD. "He is still absolutely world class! If you look at the way he played for his team against Paris, the way he cleaned everything up at the back. He is always reliable, regularly gets the fans on their toes. He even created a chance when he came out almost to the halfway line and hit a great long ball. I've always liked him and it looks like he's back in his best form."

Neuer will be confident of putting on another inspired performance between the sticks when Bayern Munich travel to the Signal Iduna Park to take on rivals Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, November 30.