Lothar Matthäus: "Jamal Musiala reminds me of myself"
Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthäus says England U21 cap Jamal Musiala's performances for the European champions remind him of his own.
Musiala made his second league start of the campaign last week, operating alongside Leon Goretzka in central midfield for the 1-1 draw at Union Berlin.
It was the latest sign of the 17-year-old’s rapid development at last season's treble winners. This term he has already got three league goals from the bench, and he also started beside Javi Martinez in the Matchday 8 draw with Werder Bremen.
Matthäus, who won seven Bundesliga titles with Bayern, was full of praise for the teenager who made his debut for England's U21 side last month.
"Sometimes he plays as a six, sometimes eight or ten," the 59-year-old told Sky.
"He reminds me a lot of another player."
Watch: Check out Musiala's impact at Bayern so far
When the presenter asked Matthäus which player he was referring to, the captain of West Germany’s 1990 FIFA World Cup-winning team replied: "He's sitting very close to you."
Matthäus certainly knows what it takes to succeed in Bayern's midfield. The former world player of the year, who also lined out as a sweeper, scored 100 goals in 410 Bundesliga appearances across two spells with the record German champions.
He is far from the only person to be impressed by Musiala's efforts this season. Bayern head coach Hansi Flick said recently that everyone at the club appreciates the former Chelsea youngster, who was born in Germany but moved to England at the age of seven.
"Jamal plays in Munich in a team packed with top players," Flick said after watching Musiala help Bayern to a 1-1 draw away to Atletico Madrid earlier this month.
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"He's highly valued by these players too because he's very calm on the ball and has a lot of quality on it. In one-on-one situations he’s difficult to stop as well."
The game in Madrid marked Musiala's first start in the UEFA Champions League, and it was another milestone in his promising career. On Matchday 33 of the 2019/20 campaign, after all, the club's No. 42 came off the bench against Freiburg to become - aged 17 years and 115 days - the youngest player to feature for Bayern in the Bundesliga.
On the opening day of this season, Musiala broke another club record by becoming Bayern's youngest ever goalscorer at the age of 17 years and 205 days. He then added to that goal against Schalke with another against Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 5 as well as a vital strike against RB Leipzig on Matchday 10.
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