Lothar Matthäus feels Germany can win titles again with Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala

Without question, Jamal Musiala was the star of the show in Bayern Munich’s 5-3 DFL-Supercup win over RB Leipzig. Before he was subbed off in the second half, he scored, setup Serge Gnabry perfectly to assist Sadio Mane, and then directly assisted Benjamin Pavard’s goal. He was at the focal point of everything going forward for Bayern and had a massive impact on the final result, given Leipzig’s second half comeback.

In attendance at the RedBull Arena was former Bayern and Germany midfielder Lothar Matthäus, who was sat alongside Hansi Flick in the stands. “I sat next to national coach Hansi Flick during the game and we looked at each other several times: What is he up to now? The way he kept pushing the game forward was outstanding,” he recently wrote in a column for Sky Sports Germany (Abendzeitung).

Musiala’s performance in Leipzig had all of the hallmarks of a typical, Bambi-esque showing. He was quick on the turn, fantastic dribbling his way out of tight spaces, and had fantastic linkup play with fellow attackers Sadio Mane, Serge Gnabry, and Thomas Muller. He thrives in an attacking midfield role, whether it be wide or centrally, and he was simply unplayable on the night. The only downside, perhaps, was that his shift only lasted for 60 minutes as Julian Nagelsmann brought on Kingsley Coman in his place after that long.

The performance in Leipzig in the Supercup was perhaps a bit catalytic in terms of Matthäus’ enthusiam for Musiala, but he wrote that he genuinely feels the youngster will help the German national team win titles at international tournaments. Die Mannschaft has a very escapable group at this winter’s World Cup in Qatar in Group E alongside Spain, Costa Rica, and Japan. They’ve got off to a positive start to life under Flick, who replaced Joachim Low last summer, and Musiala is a player that can be a real difference maker in decisive moments for Germany in Matthäus’ eyes. “With Musiala’s skills, the German national team can play for the title again in major tournaments in the future,” he wrote.

Flick’s familiarity with Musiala from his tenure as Bayern manager is something that’s highly beneficial in terms of his growth on the national team. That’s hot to say he didn’t get opportunities under Low, but Flick will know how to best utilize him, especially since he is in semi-regular contact with Nagelsmann regarding personnel and tactics.

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