Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany has decided to give Manuel Neuer his full backing and work on rebuilding the goalkeeper’s confidence following his costly mistake against Augsburg on Saturday, which resulted in the fastest goal in Bundesliga history.
As the Bavarian derby got underway, the ball was played back to Neuer, who attempted to chip it over onrushing striker Robin Vielhauer. Instead, the ball rebounded off the forward and into the empty net with just eight seconds on the clock.
According to sports magazine Kicker, Kompany had been considering starting reserve goalkeeper Jonas Urbig for Bayern’s upcoming UEFA Champions League match against Viking. However, Neuer’s error prompted the Belgian coach to change his mind in order to provide essential moral support to the German legend amid a wave of recent criticism.
Kompany’s initial plan was to play Urbig specifically because the fixture in Norway is played on an artificial pitch, alongside the club’s desire to protect the 40-year-old Neuer given his injury history and to grant his young understudy valuable playing time.
In recent hours, however, the leaning has shifted toward starting Neuer so that he can quickly move past the incident and not feel that being benched was a punishment for his mistake.
Neuer readily admitted to the blunder after the match, telling reporters, “It was a stupid mistake by me, and I should have made a different decision.” Meanwhile, Kompany and Sporting Director Max Eberl both defended the veteran, reiterating their unwavering trust in him as the team’s undisputed first-choice goalkeeper.
