He ran a lot, dribbled past his opponents, kept opening up spaces in the Frankfurt half and never lost a ball. He fired one or two dangerous long-range shots, used his slender body robustly in duels – and if necessary, he also helped out in and in his own penalty area as a defender. In short: Bayern midfielder Jamal Musiala’s radius of action in the opening match of the new Bundesliga season at Eintracht Frankfurt was immense. Almost incidentally, the 19-year-old crowned his top performance with the goal to make it 4-0 and a second goal to make it 6-1 (5-0).
Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann had set up Musiala in the middle of attacking midfield, so there was a lot going on in front of the eyes of national coach Hansi Flick, who was sitting in the stands, about Bayern’s youngest. “We wanted to play with the same energy as in the first half in the DFL Supercup against Leipzig,” said Musiala after the game at DZAN and summarized quite soberly: “In general, we played well today and controlled the game.”
Frankfurt’s Rode: “Not defendable”
A rather modest description of things, because in truth it was much more than that: The Frankfurters – as Europa League winners with a lot of advance praise in the new season – had to feel in many situations, like in a pinball machine, so fast Musiala and Co. let the ball circulate and almost always found the teammate who had already started into free space. The Eintracht defensive only reacted – but mostly too late. At the break, the Munich team deservedly had a 5-0 lead.
Again and again, Sebastian Rode loses out against Jamal Musiala, who is strong at dribbling
“We certainly imagined it very differently,” admitted Eintracht captain Sebastian Rode. “After the departure of Robert Lewandowski, the statics have changed at Bayern,” he analyzed. “The players at the front were very variable and had spaces that they played excellently. We just couldn’t defend it.”
Worried about the competition?
Although Bayern have often ended a Bundesliga opening game with a resounding victory in the past – there was an 8-0 win against Schalke or a 6-0 win against Werder Bremen – this first appearance of the season should be for the clubs that are quiet Hopes to be able to stand up to Bayern, at least raised eyebrows. Because if Bayern’s first half in the DFL Supercup against RB Leipzig was a first demonstration of power, then the first league game of the new Bundesliga season was definitely the second.
And it serves as proof that Munich are more offensively variable in the post-Lewandowski era than with the exceptional Polish striker, even if Jamal Musiala braked here. “We always try to create a lot of chances and combine a lot. But we’ve already done that with Robert Lewandowski,” he said. Nevertheless, the fact remains that – also thanks to Musiala – Bayern’s offensive worked well from the start even without Lewandowski and does not have to warm up first.
“The energy that you can feel is what pleases me the most,” said Julian Nagelsmann. Joshua Kimmich confirmed that: “It really made me want to be on the pitch,” he said. So the competition should be warned.
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The game in numbers:
Eintracht Frankfurt – Bayern Munich 1: 6 (0: 5)
Gates: 0: 1 Kimmich (5th), 0: 2 Pavard (11th), 0: 3 Mané (29th), 0: 4 Musiala (35th), 0: 5 Gnabry (43rd), 1: 5 Kolo Muani (64′), 1:6 Musiala (83′)
Viewers: 51,500 spectators (sold out)
Source: DW
