lennart karl was in the frame as Jamal Musiala started Bayern Munich’s Champions League semifinal first leg against PSG and did not make an impact. The 20-year-old finished with no shots on target, no assists and only one chance created, a muted return in a match Bayern needed more from him.
Musiala’s muted first leg
Musiala completed 26 passes, the second-fewest among Bayern’s starters, and his influence never grew beyond brief spells between the lines. PSG handled the game’s most watched Bayern attacker without allowing him the kind of touch count or final ball that usually drives his value.
The numbers were stark because the buildup pointed the other way. By April, he had rediscovered his sharpness with six goals and assists in seven games after ankle trouble in March, when he also withdrew from international fixtures. That form made his start against PSG a central part of Bayern’s plan.
Kompany on Musiala
Vincent Kompany had been insisting the playmaker was close to full rhythm. “Physically, he's very close to his best.”
He pushed the point even further when talking about Musiala’s ceiling: “There's just one question left: when will that 'Magic Musiala' return? That Jamal at his very best.” Kompany added, “When that total freedom comes back at some point – and it will – then you'll have a more developed version of Jamal Musiala.” He finished the thought with, “And as a manager, I'm looking forward to that.”
PSG and Bayern pressure
The matchup carried extra weight because Musiala had broken his fibula against PSG during the Club World Cup the previous summer, and this latest meeting asked him to answer in the same pairing. Serge Gnabry’s adductor injury in mid-April helped open the door for his return to the starting XI, but the first leg offered little of the decisive edge Bayern wanted from him.
Max Eberl tried to temper the criticism after the match. “I didn't think he was inconspicuous against Paris,” he said, a view that stood against the flat stat line and the lack of a shot on target. For Bayern, the next step is simple: getting more from Musiala in the return leg than they received in the first one.
