Jamal Musiala: Bayern Munich star and Germany's big hope
Another year where he has produced magical moments on the pitch, Jamal Musiala's star continues to shine for club and country. bundesliga.com puts the Bayern Munich and Germany star under the microscope...
Musiala clinched the Meisterschale for Bayern on the final day of 2023/24 with a goal at the death against Cologne, breaking Borussia Dortmund hearts in the process.
The 2023/24 campaign didn't work out in quite the same fashion for him and the Rekordmeister. Xabi Alonso's Bayer 04 Leverkusen managed to seal the title with room to spare, ending Bayern's 11-year reign as champions.
Nevertheless, Musiala's performances, especially in the second half of the season carried great promise for Bayern's future, as well as for Germany at the Euros on home soil. At Euro 2024, Musiala notched three goals and ended up sharing the golden boot with five other players including two other Bundesliga stars, Harry Kane and Dani Olmo.
Watch: Jamal Musiala under the microscope
Bonafide magician
Whilst the goals and assists with Musiala have been undoubtedly impressive, it is the manner in which he has created the opportunities for himself, which has turned heads. "Musiala magic" is a term often heard on commentary for Bayern games, and it's no exaggeration. When the ball is at his feet, Musiala can be magical to watch.
His effort against Freiburg was voted the Goal of the Month for March, and it encompasses all the things that makes Musiala such a delight to watch. Taking possession just outside the box, he drove at the Freiburg defence, first taking out Kiliann Sildilla before proceeding to dribble past multiple markers to slot into the far corner.
Watch: Jamal Musiala wins March Goal of the Month!
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Musiala's ability to manipulate the ball is by far the standout trait in his skill set. Receiving the ball to feet between the lines, he is adept at shifting the ball between both his left and right foot to get past markers into passing/ball-carrying opportunities.
He has shown that in various phases of play against sides in the Bundesliga, as well as the UEFA Champions League. Musiala's ability with the ball helps Bayern neutralise the threat of teams that attempt to press them high up the pitch, forcing mistakes. Thankfully for them, with the likes of Musiala, there are few of those.
Against Darmstadt on Matchday 26, Musiala was at his very best, in both creating chances and taking them himself. Even Darmstadt boss Torsten Lieberknecht could not hide his admiration after the youngster's stellar performance in inflicting a 5-2 defeat on the Lilies.
Watch: Jamal Musiala scored two and made another in Darmstadt
"If you're not directly on the receiving end of him, the youngster's an absolute joy to watch," enthused the Darmstadt coach. "He's a boon for Bayern, and the national team are so lucky to have a player like him. He's going to lead Germany to glory one day."
Seemingly unstoppable once he gets into his stride on the ball, Musiala set personal Bundesliga records with his masterclass against Darmstadt - recording an incredible total of eight shots as well as being involved in 16 shots for Bayern during the game. To cap it all off, he even won 19 of his 25 attempted challenges, underlining his all-round brilliance.
Watch: Jamal Musiala - My Story
Decisive decision-making
Bayern head coach Thomas Tuchel echoed his Darmstadt counterpart's effusive words.
"Jamal has been decisive in games time and time again in recent weeks, he's very reliable," he said. "The mixture between dribbling and passing - in other words, the whole decision-making process - is very good. We'll continue to push him because he's going to be crucial for us."
The decision-making has been particularly evident in the past two seasons, with Musiala reaching double figures for goals as well as goal involvements. Since the start of 2024, he has recorded 12 goal involvements in 14 games.
Watch: All of Jamal Musiala's 2023/24 Bundesliga goals & assists
In fact, among all midfielders in the Bundesliga, only Florian Wirtz (11) has recorded more goals this season than Musiala. Both players have been on a similar trajectory since breaking into the Bundesliga limelight and come the time of the Euros, both will have a pivotal part to play for Julian Nagelsmann's side.
Much like Wirtz, Musiala has his own distinctive running style that makes him unstoppable to defend against. The 20-year-old can easily shift between his right and left foot whilst shooting or dribbling, meaning that he is not just unstoppable but also unpredictable in one-v-one duels in the final third.
Even when teams decide to press him with numbers, Musiala seamlessly turns away from the markers in the blink of an eye.
Turning away from pressure and into goalscoring situations, Musiala has shown a great deal of end product to his dribble-heavy style of play. Recording a total of 43 shots on goal, he is only behind Leroy Sané and Harry Kane for that metric among all Bayern players, underlining his importance to Bayern as a catalyst in the final third.
However, even beyond those astonishing offensive achievements, Musiala works hard out of possession to get the ball back. For an attacking playmaker, it is perhaps all the more surprising that he has recorded the most tackles of any Bayern player in the league this term. Averaging some 30 tackles per 90 minutes, with a win rate of 50 percent, Musiala is truly an all-rounder with and without the ball.
Smart movement
All of his impressive endeavour on the ball would not be possible without his smart positioning between the lines.
Musiala is excellent at recognising those spaces in the final third that are vacated by defenders and when he is not the one initiating attacking moves, he always contributes by engaging in one-two sequences in the final third with his teammates.
Whether it be the full-backs, centre-backs, wingers or the forwards themselves, all have been profited from Musiala's ability to be in the right spaces at the right time.
Once again, this is precisely what makes him such a value presence in every phase of play that he contributes to.
As impressive as his passing ability is, Musiala's expertise in creating spaces in the opposition's defensive third with his movement is vital.
Due to his slender frame and two-footedness, Musiala is at his best on the half-turn in midfield, turning away from markers to then go forward to create chances or take on shots himself.
When the spaces are not available in the middle of the park, Musiala moves into wider areas, to engage in duels that he more often than not comes out on top of.
All of this potential and all of his performances this season provided great encouragement for Germany ahead of the Euros and he hit the ground running with goals in each of his country's opening two wins in Group A.
Donning Germany's famous No.10 jersey is a heavy responsibility that rests on his prodigious shoulders at the tournament and he's wearing it well.
Nagelsmann will continue to count on every weapon in Musiala's arsenal to combine with the likes of Wirtz and İlkay Gündoğan in forward areas.
Players of Musiala's ilk are rare, and with everything he has shown thus far, he looks set to have a long and successful career for Bayern and Germany. If his performances at Euro 2024 are anything to go by, he is just getting started.
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