Champions League : After his elimination, Neuer justifies his mistake and blames the Bernabeu pitch

In the return leg of the Champions League semi-final, goalkeeper Neuer could have been the man of the match if not for a mistake that led to a goal and ultimately his team’s elimination.

Indeed, on a seemingly harmless shot from Vinicius, Manuel Neuer fumbled the ball, allowing Joselu to equalize immediately before scoring a second goal a few minutes later.

Neuer is well aware that without this mistake, his club would have qualified for the final.

During a press conference, he reflected on his mishandling, attributing it to poor pitch conditions at the Bernabeu.

“I must say I expected the ball to bounce differently, more around my chest. It went a bit higher, and I did not expect there to be a molehill on the field,” he explained.

After the match, Thomas Tuchel also commented on the error. “Out of 10,000 times, Neuer would stop that ball 10,000 times. This was the 10,001st time. It’s almost unheard of for Neuer to make a mistake. And he did it today after a world-class game. It leaves us very bitter,” he hinted.

Neuer expressed his regrets and also criticized the officiating, which he felt was influenced by the Bernabeu atmosphere. “This 1-1 is brutal. We are bitter to be eliminated this way. We were one step from the final, we could see it. There are no words,” he admitted.

“The referee got carried away and influenced by the fact that he was officiating a match at the Santiago Bernabeu,” he also mentioned when commenting on the last controversial play of the match.

These criticisms regarding the pitch might be laughable, or not, at Real Madrid. A few weeks ago, Pep Guardiola had also criticized the condition of the Madrid pitch, and it did not sit well at all with the Madrid management.

“Let the president not take this the wrong way, the stadium is impressive, the renovations are incredible. I haven’t stepped on the pitch myself but my players have told me. People shouldn’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve played here many times and the pitch was like a carpet. It isn’t anymore, but the stadium is spectacular,” he had declared.