Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala discusses his slump: “I wasn’t happy with how I’ve been playing lately”

The end was nigh for a disappointing season from Bayern Munich as the clock ticked ever closer to 90 minutes. Knocked out of every cup competition and needing to find a late winner against Köln or lose the Bundesliga title to Borussia Dortmund, things seemed lost.

In the 89th minute, however, Bayern worked the ball back to the edge of the opponents’ box, where Jamal Musiala received the ball. His first touch was immaculate, even his by his own lofty standards, defying logic to completely stop the ball with just a small touch of his foot. His next touch pushed the ball past his marker, into some open space at the top of the box. Musiala raced onto it, took a split second to measure the shot, then pulled the trigger. And the stadium erupted into cheers as the ball nestled in the back of the net.

When speaking to kicker, as captured by @iMiaSanMia, Musiala reflected on his recent form in a very frank manner. “I wasn’t happy with how I’ve been playing lately.” He has a point, as his recent form led to calls for him to be dropped and given rest after his phenomenal start to the season petered out.

But, as Musiala always does, he took his shortcoming and learned from them. “I can learn from it how to get out of something like that. Everyone goes through such phases. Now I know how it feels.”

Everyone hits a bad patch of form at some point in time, that doesn’t mean he is a bad player. But being able to produce moments of pure magic while playing badly is the sign of a special player. And, as we witnessed in the 89th minute against FC Köln, Musiala is an incredibly special player.