Manuel Neuer was bullish following Bayern Munich’s stunning comeback against Juventus in the Champions League, insisting victory was not necessary for his team-mates to know how good they are.
Substitutes Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman struck in extra time as Bayern fought back from 2-0 down on Wednesday to progress to the quarter-finals thanks to a 4-2 victory and 6-4 aggregate win at Allianz Arena.
Thomas Muller had equalised in the 91st minute to force another 30 minutes of football in Munich, after Robert Lewandowski pulled a goal back 18 minutes earlier, as Bayern cancelled out goals from Paul Pogba and Juan Cuadrado in the first half.
And after Bayern sealed their spot in the last eight, goalkeeper Neuer said he always believed in the team’s ability.
“We didn’t need this score and to come back to 4-2 in overtime to know that we are a good team. But it helps the team,” Neuer told DW after the game.
“I think the spirit is there. We saw in the first 60 minutes in Turin how amazing we can play. We know how we can play football.”
The Germany international added: “It was amazing that we came back. The situation was amazing. To be 2-0 behind – and it wasn’t easy to come back – we needed to take a break and breath.
“The coolness was there in the second half and we knew that in every game we could score two goals.
“We followed a structure in the second half and it was important that we didn’t concede a third.”
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