The 2023/24 Champions League campaign got off to a good start for Bayern Munich on Wednesday. The Bavarian club clinched all three points in the 4-3 win against Manchester United at Allianz Arena. Despite a few shaky moments at the end of 90 minutes, Bayern deserved the win for their dominance over the Red Devils throughout the game.
Jamal Musiala was one of the standout players for Die Roten against Manchester United. The young attacking midfielder started the game in the number ten role for the first time since the opening day Bundesliga win against Werder Bremen. Musiala has been on the sidelines for three weeks due to a minor injury.
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder caused havoc in the final third with his ball-carrying ability. He was easily beating Manchester United players and finding his teammates in dangerous positions. Serge Gnabry’s goal was created by Musiala after starting the move from the half line. He managed to beat Diogo Dalot on the byline before squaring the ball for Gnabry.
Musiala was consistently creating chances for Die Roten with his dribbling and immaculate close control. While talking to the media after the game (via iMiaSanMia), Thomas Tuchel laid down a new challenge for Jamal Musiala to become an even more threatening player in the final third.
"“His next step is to keep things simple in phases that demand it and not always make the decision when dribbling to try one more turn. He needs to get a feel for it, that will come with game experience and understanding, but his ability to drop deep, turn and dribble is his greatest strength.”"
The German international created three chances against Manchester United, with two of them being big chances. He also had two shots on target during the game. On any other day, Musiala would have walked with another assist. (Stats courtesy: Fotmob)
Tuchel wants Musiala to keep the flair in his game but improve his efficiency. The youngster does have the tendency to dribble too much at times, which leads to nothing. Improving the efficiency on the ball without losing crucial aspects of his natural game will help Musiala to take his game to the next level.
Musiala has shown great maturity in his game over the past few seasons. He is effectively Bayern’s first choice number ten now, displacing Thomas Muller in the starting XI. Considering his growth over the last couple of seasons, he will definitely absorb Tuchel’s advice and take his game to the next level.
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Apart from Musiala, other attacking players also shone against Manchester United. Harry Kane, Leroy Sane, and Serge Gnabry got on the scoresheet. Mathys Tel effectively scored the winner, while Kingsley Coman looked sharp after coming on in the second half. Tuchel would like to see the team defending better and stop conceding cheap goals like they did in the final minutes of the game against Manchester United.