Vincent Kompany told he should have dropped Manuel Neuer as goalkeeper's blunder costs Bayern Munich in first slip of the season

Bayern were handed a tough start against Union Berlin, partly due to Neuer's goalkeeping error in the 27th minute when a shot from Danilho Doekhi slipped through his arms to find its place in the back of the net. This goal had a psychological impact, perhaps, as Bayern, despite equalising through Luis Diaz in the first half, again went down in the 83rd minute, courtesy of another Doekhi goal. However, in the 90th minute, it was English striker Harry Kane who bailed them out of this situation and helped the team settle for a point in this away fixture.

After a tough game against Paris Saint-Germain, which Bayern won 2-1, Kahn felt that Kompany should have rested Neuer and fielded Jonas Urbig. The backup goalkeeper joined the Bavarians in January from Koln and is yet to establish himself as the first-choice custodian, with Kompany keeping his faith on the 39-year-old Neuer, who is approaching the twilight of his career. Kahn defended Neuer to Bild Sport but felt the ex-Germany international should have been rested, saying: "That's perfectly normal. It doesn't matter if you're world-class or not. These moments just happen. A game like that is quite a mental strain after the match in Paris. The goalkeeper has to constantly anticipate. A game like the one against Union would have been a good opportunity for recovery. So instead, they let Urbig play."

Kahn also provided references from his own playing career, where he rested himself in certain games to ensure a soothing recovery. He stated: "I actually did that quite often and would say that I needed a recovery break before the next game. It's different than when you're 25 or 35, 38 or 40. The recovery time is longer then."

A World Cup winner with the German national team and holder of multiple accolades for Bayern, Neuer is often regarded as one of the finest goalkeeper's in football. However, the veteran unhesitatingly accepted his fault for Bayern's share of points. He said: "I played a part in the first goal. My view wasn't perfect, and the distance wasn't ideal either. But I made the wrong decision. I made the wrong decision in the first goal, we lost the second ball in the second goal. It was tough today against this team, especially after Wednesday. But we believe we'll soon get back to winning ways. In the end I think it was a good point."

Kompany too, defended his No.1, saying: "What do you expect me to say? That I'll say something about my number one goalkeeper? Of course not. It's a collective game. When you concede a goal, there are many things and sequences that happen before. We look at those moments too."

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