At first glance, you wouldn't think Jamal Musiala and a striker like Carsten Jancker have much in common. Between 1996 and 2002, the powerful attacker wreaked havoc in opposition penalty boxes and in spite of his imposing physique, Jancker was known for the occasional bit of football magic on the pitch. When it comes to the elegant moves of Musiala, however, he doesn't quite compare.
Earliest cup goal in 25 years
Nevertheless, both players deserve a mention following this cup tie in Mainz. Following a beautiful set-up by Harry Kane, Musiala opened the scoring inside two minutes to record the fastest goal by Bayern in the DFB Cup in the past 25 years. Back then, it was obviously Jancker who had struck even earlier, netting within the first minute of a 4-1 victory against Meppen. Then and now, both players made it unmistakeably clear that their team had come to win.
“Scoring early away from home was obviously good for us,“ commented Joshua Kimmich and added: “We showed a very disciplined and efficient first half.” After all, the first goal was only the start of the Musiala show in that first half. The 21-year-old came close after 30 minutes to recording a beautiful assist for Leroy Sané , who was denied one-on-one by Mainz keeper Robin Zentner. Seven minutes later, however, Musiala was more fortunate and headed a rebounded Kane effort across the line. Just before half-time, Sané finished a prefect counter-attack and proved you shouldn't give him too many opportunities to score. And finally, Musiala capped off the first half with his third goal of the day to grab Bayern's fourth.
The opponents saw today what an extraordinary player Jamal is, board member for sport Max Eberl commented on the Germany international. Once more, he had shown an exceptional performance against the DFB Cup opponents. He has now been involved in 10 goals in just as many games against Mainz (seven goals, three assists), more than against any other club. It was also Musiala's first ever hat-trick for Bayern. Overall, Musiala stands at 50 competitive goals in 174 games.
Man of the match in 45 minutes
The question who man of the match would be was obviously decided early this evening. And yet, Musiala once more fell short to the aforementioned Jancker, who holds the joint club record of scoring the most goals in a DFB Cup fixture for Bayern (five against Waldberg in August 1997). Since Bayern's current scorer was taken off at half-time, Jancker's record remained unthreatened. Vincent Kompany had decided to give Musiala and some others a rest following a memorable first half. “The lad brings fun into the team. We're trying to keep him fresh,” Bayern's head coach explained and added, “He can become an incredible player. I hope he keeps going. He is young and will improve.”
Even without Musiala, Bayern kept the upper hand in the second half, maintained the clear 4-0 lead and advanced to the round of 16. “It was a bit slower in the second half, but I think that's understandable following the past weeks. Overall, it was a commanding performance,” Kimmich explained. What mattered most for coach Kompany was that “the mentality was right. My team deserves a big compliment for being ready again only three days after the game in Bochum.”
Busy weeks continue
The busy schedule continues for Bayern. The next goal on Saturday is to defend top spot in the table at home to fourth-placed Union Berlin. “Now, only the next game counts. If we keep working, we will get better. When you're at Bayern Munich, your goal is always to win everything,” Kompany commented. “We haven't achieved anything yet and have to keep going.” Unsurprisingly, the man of the match seemed to agree: “The more games we play, the better we know what do. We want to play with high intensity and score goals.” Tonight in the DFB Cup, Musiala showed how good he is already at doing just that.
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