Bundesliga
Already a world-class star in his own right, Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala has recently shown that he is expanding his repertoire to become even better.
Even at the age of 17, Musiala was making waves in German football. The attacking midfielder became Bayern’s youngest-ever player at the time in June 2020, and a few months later, he wrote himself into the history books as the club’s youngest-ever scorer (a record since taken from him by Mathys Tel).
He scored more goals (29) before his 21st birthday than any other player in the Bundesliga, is still the German national team’s youngest debutant since Uwe Seeler in 1954, already has four Bundesliga titles to his name and was the UEFA Euro 2024 top goalscorer on home soil. If he were to retire tomorrow, he would be able to look back on a career that most professionals can only dream off.
Scarily, however, Musiala is still in the early stages of his career, and his year-on-year performances suggest he will continue on an upward trajectory. Twelve strikes in 33 Bundesliga games during the 2022/23 term were scored at a rate of one every 184 minutes, which dropped by seven in 2023/24 as he struck 10 times in 24 outings. This season, there has been a significantly bigger improvement, with his five efforts in eight matches coming at a rate of one every 124 minutes.
Watch: The Best of Jamal Musiala
The frequency with which Bayern’s No. 42 has found the back of the net this season is not the only example of his increased goal threat; since August, he has shown an ability to score from a number of different situations.
After previously netting just twice with his head throughout his career before the start of the campaign, he has already done so on three occasions this time around, with one apiece in the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League and DFB Cup.
He demonstrated another recently acquired skill on Matchday 10 away to St. Pauli this past weekend. With Bayern dominating but struggling to breach a dogged home defence, Musiala stepped up with a moment of magic from 35 yards out, unleashing an unstoppable strike with swerve and power that had Nikola Vasilj in all kinds of trouble before crashing in off the crossbar.
Watch: St. Pauli 0-1 Bayern Munich - highlights
“It was my first goal this year from outside the box," he told bundesliga.com after the final whistle. "We've practiced shooting from a little further away in training. That's why I was a little extra happy.”
His striking versatility has not gone unnoticed by the club’s hierarchy either. “We've been saying for the last few weeks that he's now scoring headed goals," said Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund after the Pauli clash.
"And now he's even scoring long-range goals - you don't see that every day. It was another great strike. He's scoring important goals at the moment. He's in great form.”
Watch: Musiala on his goal against St. Pauli
So while Musiala has always been influential on the pitch thanks to his quick fee, dribbling and vision, he is now having an even greater impact in the final third by constantly getting himself in the most dangerous positions.
“I do think I have made steps forward," Musiala continued. "Last year the goals and assists were a bit lacking, now this is added to it.”
The 21-year-old has also earned praise from teammate and goalscoring expert Harry Kane. "He's getting in the right areas and that's what happens, the ball falls your way," the England international said after Musiala's headed winner in the Champions League against Benfica.
"But it's all because of the hard work he does. You can work on it. You can work on being in those areas. I'm really plesed for him and hopefully he keeps it up,."
With under a third of the season played, Musiala's tally of five goals leaves him just three shy of his entire tally for 2023/24. It is surely only a matter of when, not if, he surpasses it and continues his path towards Bundesliga and world domination.