Starlet Thomas crowns debut with goal

On Wednesday morning, Thomas Müller trained as normal with the Bayern reserves. Wet snow and a bitter chill made conditions uncomfortable, but Müller declared himself “delighted. I need normality to help me come down from the Champions League atmosphere.” Not 12 hours earlier, the 19-year-old Bavarian native made his maiden appearance in Europe’s elite club competition.

“It was a real thrill,” he told fcbayern.de. Müller came on for the last 20 minutes against Sporting Lisbon and immediately displayed his class. Accelerating past a first defender, he shimmied to the left, beat a second opponent and crossed for Miroslav Klose to knock the ball down into Mark van Bommel’s path. The skipper duly netted his side’s fifth goal of the night.