After 90 gripping minutes, Manuel Neuer was not only able to celebrate FC Bayern's hard-earned 1-0 away win at FC Augsburg on Wednesday evening, but also a very special milestone. With his 196th Bundesliga clean sheet, the Bayern goalkeeper levelled the record for the most clean sheets in the top flight, a best-mark now shared with the former FCB 'keeper Oliver Kahn. However, Neuer only needed 422 games to achieve this, while Kahn needed 557.
The goalkeeper, together with his back four, needed a bit of time to reach the record. Bayern haven't kept a clean sheet in the league since Matchday 5. "It is special because we've secured the three points," said Neuer, and head coach Hansi Flick was also happy about the clean sheet win: "We all wanted to contribute to not conceding, and we succeeded."
Against Augsburg, the Munich defence was solid and allowed only very few chances for the home side. FCA did not even get a shot on target versus Bayern the whole 90 minutes (hitting the post counts as off target). In an extremely dominant first half, Bayern did not even allow a single shot, a feat last achieved against Borussia Dortmund in November 2019. However, Neuer was lucky on one occasion this evening. In the 76th minute, the World Goalkeeper of the Year dived the wrong way for Alfred Finnbogason's penalty, but the post came to the rescue for Bayern's 34-year-old captain.
Chance to break the record at home
"Our whole defensive unit put a lot into it. We didn't allow any big chances and deserved to get it," said Neuer. The Bavarians want to take the next step towards defending their title with the same effort on Sunday in the match at FC Schalke 04. For Neuer, it's a return home. The perfect setting to become the sole record holder for most league clean sheets.
The match report from Bayern's derby win:
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