Manuel Neuer earns Man of the Match with masterclass performance in Bayern Munich’s win over Real Madrid
That was a vintage Manuel Neuer masterclass for FC Bayern.
MADRID, SPAIN - APRIL 07: Manuel Neuer of FC Bayern Munich celebrates his team's first goal, scored by teammate Luis Diaz (not pictured) during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Quarter-Final First Leg match between Real Madrid CF and FC Bayern München at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on April 07, 2026 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images) | Getty Images It’s advantage to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals as they came away from the Bernabéu with a 2-1 over Real Madrid in the first of two legs in what was an impressive display from the German Rekordmeister . Vincent Kompany’s side dominated the match for large portions of the match and very easily could have scored more than twice, though the same can be said of Madrid with how dangerous they consistently looked on the counter attack with Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior.
Luis Díaz’s strike just before halftime and Harry Kane’s finish at the start of the second half was no more than Bayern deserved from their efforts, but it was Manuel Neuer who really put in a massive performance to ensure that Mbappé’s 74th minute goal was the only Madrid effort going in. The veteran keeper even came close to keeping that effort out as he parried the ball into the underside of the crossbar, but the ball did completely cross the line. For Mbapppé, that was about the fifth time of asking that he was finally able to get one over the line as Neuer had previously denied him on numerous occasions.
It came as no surprise that Neuer was awarded the Man of the Match accolade by UEFA. Even with how Bayern was for most of the match, Neuer’s key saves were the biggest reason why Real Madrid didn’t strike more than once and it was quite arguably one of the keeper’s best performances of the season. 40 years old and putting in special performances 👏 Manuel Neuer POTM 🏆 #POTM | #UCL pic.
twitter. com/ndU4NJSlrn — UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 7, 2026 In total, Neuer registered nine saves in the winning effort, a handful of which denied Mbappé from close range. He came up big three times within the first 20 minutes with saves to deny Mbappé and Vinícius, all of which came on the tail end of counter attackers, where Real Madrid found any and all of their joy in the first half.