Bayern’s desire and motivation is ‘unbelievable’, says captain Neuer

Manuel Neuer hailed the “unbelievable” desire and motivation that Bayern Munich showed in their second-half rout of RB Leipzig.

After heading into half-time at 1-0 down, with Romulo scoring for the hosts, Bayern ran out 5-1 winners at the Red Bull Arena.

It is just the second time Bayern have scored five goals after half-time when trailing, having also done so in September 1976 when they won 6-5 in Bochum (scoring six goals, having been 0-3 down at half-time).

Second-half substitute Michael Olise proved to be hugely influential. Coming on at 1-1, the playmaker went on to register three assists before scoring the final goal of the match.

Olise is the second player on record (since 2004-05) to assist three goals after coming on as a substitute in a Bundesliga match, following Franck Ribery against Wolfsburg in 2019.

Bayern accumulated 3.99 of their total 4.56 expected goals (xG) after the restart.

“We’ve often been behind this season but have always come back, and we vowed to do that again today at half-time,” said Neuer.

“We certainly played better in the second half.

5 – Bayern scored five goals after trailing at half-time – they had only managed this once before in a Bundesliga away game, in September 1976 when they won 6-5 in Bochum (even scoring six goals, having been 0-3 down at half-time). Spectacle. pic.twitter.com/t3npnX7cXI

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) January 17, 2026

“Leipzig have had a game less than us, and we ran six kilometres more in the second half, which says something about the desire and motivation that were there to turn the game around and then also score the third, fourth, fifth goal. It’s unbelievable.”

The second half also saw a welcome return for Jamal Musiala, who made his first appearance since suffering a broken leg and ankle against Paris Saint-Germain at the Club World Cup.

Musiala marked his return by assisting Olise just 69 seconds after coming off the bench, much to the delight of his team-mates.

Neuer said of the midfielder: “It’s so great. I know what’s behind it all when you’ve had a long injury, especially mentally. We’re all delighted.

And Aleksandar Pavlovic added: “We’re so incredibly pleased Jamal’s back. We’ve seen every day how hard he’s worked, how he’s battled to get back quickly.

“He’s a world-class player. We’re happy he’s back now and that we can play with him again.”