“I haven't had this feeling for a while”: Jamal Musiala rediscovers his lightness
Jamal Musiala’s goal to make it 1-0 against Bodö/Glimt immediately brought a double sense of relief, and he then spoke openly about his feelings. Coach Vincent Kompany is very pleased, but now has even more reasons to ponder his line-up.
They were all around him straight away. Harry Kane, who had supplied the assist for this important and already rather late 1-0 against FK Bodö/Glimt, pinched Jamal Musiala on the shoulder, Aleksandar Pavlovic hugged him, Jonathan Tah gave a little bowing gesture as he shook his hand. It was a celebration a touch more animated than you would normally expect for a 1-0 in the 47th minute on the opening matchday of the Champions League against an underdog from Norway, even if the finish, struck with conviction, was certainly a very pretty one.
Later, when Musiala came off, coach Vincent Kompany gave him a slightly warmer round of applause than usual too. Their embrace lasted. “I and probably 75,000 in the stadium and many more in front of the television were delighted with this goal,” Kompany said afterwards.
Jamal Musiala's goal against Bodö/Glimt was a double relief
Musiala’s goal brought relief in two ways. First, it broke the deadlock in what had been quite a laboured game against opponents defending compactly and intelligently, one that eventually ended in a routine 5-0 after 90 minutes. Above all, though, Musiala had scored in his first start of this still very young season.
Just over three weeks have passed since Musiala collapsed disorientated to the turf for the second time within a few days in a friendly and later explained it with “temporarily brief but easily treatable absences” that are due to a neurological dysfunction. Musiala had already been living with this form of epilepsy for more than a year without the public noticing, and the two collapses during games had probably come as part of a change in medication. After his brief appearance last weekend against Schalke, Kompany restored the playmaker to the starting line-up against Bodö.
“The fact he then makes it 1-0, these are the kinds of stories football writes, but the lad deserved that too,” said Bayern sporting director Max Eberl. Yet Musiala making it 1-0 also followed a clear logic: alongside Joshua Kimmich, he had been Bayern’s most noticeable player in the laboured first half, eager and at times even over-eager. As if he wanted to prove to himself that he was back.
What injury did Jamal Musiala have?
“The feeling I had today is a feeling I haven’t had for a while,” Musiala then said openly after the game on DAZN. It was not just about the absences: after his serious fibula fracture at the Club World Cup, at a time when he had been in absolutely top form, and the long rehabilitation that followed, it sometimes seemed as though he had lost trust in his body and his exorbitant abilities. Musiala often looked short of ease last season.
After the World Cup, he also had a plate removed in an operation, one that had previously stabilised the shinbone after the fracture. “I now want to get back to my level step by step with that light feeling on the pitch, with joy and fun,” he explained. The “support from Bayern, the players and coaches, that really helped me.”
Meanwhile, Kompany had repeatedly stressed last season that he had absolutely no doubt Musiala would find his way back. Now he said: “We knew that this moment would come. For Jamal it is of course great. As a top player, you need confidence to get into a rhythm. And of course moments like that are very, very important,” he said.
Michael Olise only becomes world-class once Musiala is no longer on the pitch
Still, Bayern would not be Bayern if Musiala’s upturn did not also leave the coach with fresh questions. The issue of whom Kompany should field in the No 10 role will only get harder to solve as more players return from injury.
For example, Lennart Karl came on again against Bodö, as did new signing Ismael Saibari. Serge Gnabry should not stay injured forever either. They are all flexible and can play in other positions too, but that does not necessarily make life easier for Kompany.
Then there is another special case. Michael Olise, who had been largely invisible for a long spell, improved after Musiala’s 1-0, but he only really reached world-class level once Musiala was on the bench and he was allowed to take up the No 10 role, as he does with the France national team.
During the World Cup, the question had already come up whether Kompany would really be able to afford to keep using this gifted No 10 mainly on the right wing at Bayern. The Bayern coach’s answer in all previous competitive matches, including the Super Cup, had simply been “Yes”: Olise had always operated from the right and, despite three goals and one assist, had not been wholly convincing in the previous four matches.
Against Bodö, that trend initially seemed to continue: Olise struggled to get into the game for a long time, often dribbled into trouble and also showed a few weaknesses in his passing. Once Musiala made it 1-0 and Bodö/Glimt began giving Munich more and more space, though, Olise blossomed. He first set up Harry Kane’s 2-0 with an excellent free-kick cross, and when Musiala went off for a rest after 65 minutes and Olise was allowed to move inside, he added two goals of his own.
Squad management is one of Kompany’s greatest strengths.
