Manuel Neuer (r.) in action for Bayern at Freiburg on Friday night, when temperatures plummeted to -7 degrees celsius. - © © imago / Sportnah
Manuel Neuer (r.) in action for Bayern at Freiburg on Friday night, when temperatures plummeted to -7 degrees celsius. - © © imago / Sportnah

Manuel Neuer on that Robert Lewandowski goal and Bayern's late win in Freiburg

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Following the Bundesliga leaders' 2-1 win at SC Freiburg on Friday, FC Bayern München goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was full of praise for Robert Lewandowski, whose stroke of genius decided a tight encounter, but also admitted that conditions at the Schwarzwald-Stadion did not suit the visitors.

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Here's what the world's top goalkeeper had to say after Bayern's triumph...

Question: Would it be the wrong impression to say that you were a little surprised by Freiburg's high tempo in the early stages?

Manuel Neuer: Yes. [Bayer 04] Leverkusen and [Borussia] Dortmund played like that too, with good pressing high up the pitch. Of course, they didn't get quite as high or as close to me because they didn't want to be caught out at the back, either, but we knew that they'd press us aggressively.

Question: How would you sum up how things went?

Neuer: It wasn't easy, but we knew that. I think we had a few too many players involved during the build-up, especially in the first half. We could have coped with fewer players there because we could have done with more players between the lines. Then we went 1-0 down but fortunately we equalised. In the second half we played a bit better but we still gave up a couple of other chances to Nils [Petersen].

Watch: click on the video below to hear what Arjen Robben made of Bayern's tight win:

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Question: There were also a couple of times the team lacked concentration...

Neuer: That was partly the case with our passing, but it was also down to the conditions.

Question: In what way?

Neuer: At our place the playing surface isn't necessarily better but it's definitely harder and the ball runs faster. That's in no way criticising Freiburg – they did their best to make it possible to play properly here today. But it's certainly a disadvantage for us because we're used to playing a faster game, because that's how we want to play.

Question: A word on Robert Lewandowski, who took the ball on his chest and fired the ball home after one touch. That was world class, wasn't it?

Neuer: Yes that was super in a tight space. And when you have a defender on you, it’s obviously doubly difficult. He did it brilliantly.

Watch: click the video below to hear from Robert Lewandowski after his remarkable, late winner:

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Question: Arturo Vidal was holding his rib when he was substituted. Did you feel that he wasn’t fully fit going into tonight’s game?

Neuer: Only he can judge that. Every player who starts has to show that they're 100 per cent fit because we have such a good team.

Question: Does this game allow you to draw conclusions about the team's performance level?

Neuer: The conditions are the same for both sides. I think that we're fit. Admittedly, we made some mistakes but we hope that the conditions will be better for the next game.

Christoph Ruf reporting from Freiburg

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