Thomas Müller provided the assist for Mario Mandzukic’s winning goal in Frankfurt on Saturday, and overall the striker is satisfied with the progress made by Bayern since the opening day victory over Gladbach. “We kept a clean sheet and stopped them getting at us on the break," the player exclusively told fcbayern.de. The 23-year-old also discussed the near future, his role under Pep Guardiola, and club records.
Interview: Thomas Müller
fcbayern.de: Hello Thomas! You’ve equalled the club record of 27 Bundesliga matches without defeat. Are you talking about that in the dressing room?
Thomas Müller: We're obviously aware of it and we're delighted, but the priority in Frankfurt was three points, which we were determined to take.
The league record is 36 matches…
So we have a few games to go (laughs). Naturally we want to win every match, but you can't plan football in advance.
What's your assessment of the victory away to Eintracht? Was it deserved?
Frankfurt put up stiff resistance, as everyone saw. It wasn't a stroll for us, it was a tough game after an international break. We put in a great deal of effort. Our opponents created chances, but overall it was a merited victory. We were definitely the better team.
Most commentators felt it was an improvement compared to the opening match against Gladbach. Would you agree?
We kept a clean sheet and stopped them getting at us on the break. It's exactly what we talked about during the week, and it was much better. We had more control of possession, and more control in every area of the pitch.
Which areas still need fine tuning?
We have so much creativity and so many options in attack, so the focus in the next few weeks will be defending.
Have you had to adapt your game under Pep Guardiola?
Not really. Pep Guardiola has made a few changes to our team tactics but not really to us as individuals. Every player has his strengths and weaknesses. If Arjen is out on the right, he does things differently compared to me in the same position. We have what I call structural tasks now, especially in defence. We have to maintain our positions in certain shapes, and that's what it's about.
Can the new coach bring even more variety to your game?
We're not really working on individual players in training at the moment. We're looking to go in a new direction in terms of team tactics and build up our ability to dominate. That'll automatically made each individual better.
Prior to evening home games like the one against Gladbach, Guardiola is allowing you to sleep at home. How did you find that?
Very comfortable. You always sleep better at home. And providing we keep winning, we'll definitely keep doing it. We're happy with it.
Thiago, Mario Götze and Jan Kirchhoff are the new signings this summer. What are your first impressions?
They've all added a lot of quality. We don't need to talk about Mario and Thiago, because both have shown what they can do at the highest level. But Jan is very talented and will make us stronger in defence.
You have no internationals or friendlies this week, so it's an uninterrupted week of training. How important is that in the early stages of the season?
When you consider we’re basically playing twice a week through to Christmas, it's a chance to stop and draw breath. And then as of Saturday, we just have to keep doing our thing and win our matches.
It's the all-Bavarian derby against Nürnberg. What are you expecting from the match?
We’ve generally done well at home to Nürnberg, and we obviously want that to continue. Nürnberg are very strong in the air and come with enormous presence. They play with great determination, so we have to resist that. We're superior to them technically and tactically, but we have to show that on the field.
Looking a little further ahead, you meet Chelsea in the European Super Cup in Prague at the end of the month…
We do have a small score to settle, even if we can't completely wipe away the memory of losing the Champions League final. You don't always reach the Super Cup final, so we'll do everything we can to win the trophy.
The Bayern reserves are on a stunning winning streak. You're an FCB youth product, so do you keep a close eye on the second team?
I keep up to speed. The lads often train with us, and it's obvious they’re quality. It didn't go so well for them last season but they’re marching clear this time. Eight wins from eight games is impressive.
Do the talented youngsters turn to you for advice?
Obviously, with the way I am, I can try and help the lads relax, and relieve the tension so they don't think too hard. And I'm always there with help and advice if they have questions. The most important thing is that they're good footballers. The rest will look after itself.
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