Jamal Musiala could have cracked a joke, or at least a mischievous grin. But he's not like that. He is many things, but what he isn't is a show-off. In FC Bayern's 2-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg, he once again proved that at the young age of 19, he is first and foremost an excellent footballer.
Always thinking of the team
"I try to give everything, but there are always things you can improve on," Musiala said of his brilliant performance in Sunday's home game. His clear analysis shows what coach Julian Nagelsmann later characterised as the true value of his young star: "Jamal is an extremely humble player who always wants to learn." He doesn't put himself first, but rather the team - and that's why he's so valuable to our club.
Nagelsmann, too, had of course noticed that Musiala was the source of FCB's best moments against the Wolves. He played clever passes, sometimes in inventive ways. And with a fine individual effort he scored to make it 1-0 (34') before Thomas Müller doubled the lead (43').
Already his third league goal
For Musiala, it was his third goal of the new Bundesliga season. When he was substituted in the 83rd minute, Nagelsmann gave him a warm hug - and the crowd at the sold-out Allianz Arena rose to its feet.
"That's the kind of start I was aiming for: to give everything, to score more goals and be more efficient in my game," Musiala added. He didn't need to say much more than that. There was enough talk about him anyway.
CEO Oliver Kahn called Musiala's play "just exceptional at the moment". Board member for sport Hasan Salihamidžić added: "We are happy to have a player like him in our squad. He's fulfilling his potential on the pitch. It's just great how he keeps going, how he twists and turns in tight spaces and what he does from that."
Müller even praised Bambi and his "very good passing game", saying that in the past "some great things have come out of it".
Attacking elasticity excites
It's obvious to everyone that Musiala has reached the next level in his development. "Things are going well for us at the moment. We're really flexible up front, we move around, we get a lot of touches on the ball and run in deep. It's fun!" Musiala notes.
The Germany international knows just as well that he has to now continue to work as hard as he has done thus far in order to maintain his top form. "If he consolidates these performances, he will score a few more goals," Nagelsmann reiterated. Bayern fans are looking forward to seeing that come to fruition!
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