Thomas Müller, Manuel Neuer reflect on Bayern’s loss to Leverkusen

The nature of Bayern Munich’s 2-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen was exceptionally bitter because of the amount of chances Bayern created but failed to exploit. Leon Bailey’s brace was enough to secure the vital 3 points at the Allianz Arena for Leverkusen despite Bayern’s barrage of chances in the second half.

Thomas Müller scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season when he fired home a left-footed shot just a few yards out from the 18-yard box in the 34th minute, tying the match at 1-1. That goal broke a streak of 1356 minutes in the league without a goal, Müller’s longest drought. The 2-1 finish in favor of Leverkusen was the first match that Bayern has ever lost when Müller scored.

Speaking after the match, Müller said that Bayern deserved the 3 points, but were nowhere near clinical enough in the final third (kicker):

Even if we win 3-2 or 5-3, no one can say that it would not have been deserved. On [Bayern’s] side, there was perhaps an unprecedented inefficiency. We ourselves can’t explain it.

during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Allianz Arena on November 30, 2019 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by A. Hassenstein/Getty Images for FC Bayern

On the balance. Lukas Hradecky was the far busier of the two keepers, making a total of 10 saves, twice as many as Manuel Neuer. Unfortunately for Neuer, two of Leverkusen’s 7 shots on target were Bailey’s brace, which Neuer had little chance of saving. Bayern still had far more chances. The Bayern captain said that luck clearly wasn’t on their side:

Not much was lacking; there was more to be had overall. That’s soccer some time, a little bit of luck is also part of it. We didn’t have that today. The second half was all right; we had a bit of trouble in the first. The concentration in finishing was certainly there when you hit aluminum so often. It also must be said that Hradecky played very well. It’s better, however, to lose although you were clearly the better team than vice versa, when you lose 1-2 and were not better.

Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images

Hansi Flick also said that has team was unlucky not to have have scored at least two goals. After the success of his first four matches in charge, Flick admitted that he didn’t get carried away with the performances. But he was left frustrated with how wasteful Bayern were in front of goal:

I didn’t flip out after four wins and I won’t do that now either. We were careless twice. I can’t blame the team at all with respect to will and commitment. It was certainly a very attractive game for the spectators.

We were too careless with our chances. We didn’t do that well. It’s annoying to stand there after such a game without any points.