Bayern players must take responsibility, warns Neuer

Manuel Neuer wants Bayern Munich to produce a dominant response to their weekend defeat at Hoffenheim when they begin their Champions League campaign against Anderlecht on Tuesday.

Mark Uth’s double gave Hoffenheim a famous 2-0 triumph at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena, where Sebastian Rudy suffered a first Bayern loss against the club he left at the end of last season.

Carlo Ancelotti deployed Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and James Rodriguez from the bench, his first XI selected with an eye on Tuesday’s match with the Belgian champions at the Allianz Arena, and captain Neuer is in no mood to tolerate the prospect of consecutive slip-ups.

“After the Hoffenheim defeat we need to respond with a win against Anderlecht,” the Germany goalkeeper told a pre-match news conference.

The plan for #FCBRSCA: “Be dominant, move the ball around quickly, create goalscoring opportunities and take the lead,” says @Manuel_Neuer. pic.twitter.com/7I2XYBTRFS

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) September 11, 2017

“It doesn’t matter where a Bayern player plays. He has to take responsibility in his position.

“At home in the UEFA Champions League, we need to show a certain level of dominance and create more chances.

“We have analysed Anderlecht as a team and before the game I will do more to better understand the style of football they play.  

“It’s important for us to start well in the group, especially at home. We want to do well in all competitions.

“Playing in Europe is always different to playing in the league. We need to take the lead against Anderlecht to take control of the game.

“We couldn’t do it against Hoffenheim, but I’m confident we can tomorrow.”

James collected Champions League medals in each of his final two seasons at Real Madrid and is in line to make his debut in the competition for Bayern against the Belgian title holders.

Focus#packmas #FCBRSCA pic.twitter.com/MKrzxn4ca7

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) September 11, 2017

Neuer has no doubt the Colombia star can be a major asset to Ancelotti’s side, even if the language barrier is standing firm at present.

“He can’t speak great German yet, but he is trying hard to understand and can improvise,” he said.

“He’s working to improve so that we can communicate better.”