Jamal Musiala's electric performances for club and country are not the only reason why the 19-year-old is being welcomed with open arms across Germany. Off the pitch, he's polite, modest and ambitious, as he showed once again after FC Bayern's 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.
"I still want to improve and score more goals, even though the season’s going well for me," said Bambi, as he's affectionately know by his teammates, after another dazzling performance on Friday night.
Musiala's sublime pass set up Leroy Sané's opening goal after 2.29 minutes.
Bayern's top scorer
It's no wonder Musiala has so many admirers - there really is nothing he cannot do. Take his goalscoring, for example. With 17 minutes on the clock, the FC Bayern Campus graduate thundered in the German record champions' second of the night to make it a team-leading five Bundesliga goals for the season. That's as many strikes after seven matches as he tallied in 30 last term.
Personal best alert: the 19-year-old already has five Bundesliga goals this season.
Musiala the playmaker
An A-grade taker, Musiala's a dab hand at making chances, too. His fleet of foot, snake hips and balletic movement between the lines translated into two assists against Leverkusen. Be it his eye-of-the-needle pass into the feet of Leroy Sané for the opener or quick thinking for Sadio Mané to add a third, Magic Musiala provided a level of service usually reserved for Michelin-starred restaurants.
Man of the Match
Musiala doesn't even have to be doing the business in the final third to stand out. He can defend, aided and abetted by a newfound robust streak, as evinced by his back-tracking intervention to dispossess Kerem Demirbay in the 24th minute.
And once he has the ball at his feet, that's when the magic really happens. Mazy Musiala runs invariably draw expectant gasps from the watching public these days. The build-up to Mane's second goal - ultimately ruled out for a foul - is a case in point. Boxed into the tightest of spaces, Musiala escaped the attentions of no less than six opposition players. If the Bundesliga dished out Man of the Match honours like in the Champions League, there would only have been one winner.
Musiala has added steel to his innate silk.
Milestone: a hand in three goals
For the first time in a competitive match for FC Bayern, Musiala had a direct hand in three goals. The teenaged whirlwind saves his best for the Allianz Arena, where he has contributed to at least one goal (three of his own and two assists) in his last five home outings. It's little wonder he exited stage left, in the 81st minute, to a standing ovation and celebratory water shower from parter-in-crime Sane.
Musiala is now Bayern's joint best for assists, alongside Thomas Müller, while only Union Berlin forward Sheraldo Becker has been involved in more goals in the 2022/23 Bundesliga (nine).
Man-of-the-moment Musiala puts the 'M' in 'magic'.
Jam-packed schedule ahead of World Cup
Musiala was already the talk of the town, after impressing for Germany in games against Hungary (0-1) and England (3-3) during the international break. Hansi Flick ("It's a joy to see him play") and Gareth Southgate waxed lyrical about the midfield maestro, with the 2022 World Cup fast approaching.
Until then, Musiala has 12 games with Bayern in the space of six weeks to do what he - as one of the rising stars of the world game - does best: shine.
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