Bayern Munich

Musiala has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign at Bayern Munich and last month the 18-year-old attacking midfielder pledged his allegiance to Germany, having also represented England at youth level.

Having become the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history when he netted for Bayer Leverkusen in June last year, Wirtz has scored seven times in 30 appearances across all competitions this season.

His participation in Germany's games against Iceland, Romania and North Macedonia will depend upon him recovering from a positive coronavirus test at the start of this month, but Low is keen to involve both highly rated youngsters.

"I think it is safe to say already that both players are in our plans," he told ntv.

"[It will be] good that I can see them for a few days with us, [to see how] they appear in our group."

Low will step down after Euro 2020 after 15 years at the helm.

The 2014 World Cup winner believes the overhaul of Germany's football system – ultimately leading an environment for the likes of Wirtz and Musiala to develop and thrive in – is the achievement he will look back upon most fondly.

"The greatest achievement was the development over the entire period," he said.

"Our football had technical and tactical problems. We've gotten a lot better when it comes to football culture and play, and that makes me very happy."

Wirtz and Musiala's addition could bolster a Germany squad without Premier League stars such as Ilkay Gundogan, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz.

Quarantine requirements for travellers from the United Kingdom to Germany could hinder the capacity for players from England's top-flight to play a full part in the international break.

Regulations in Romania, where Germany have an away game, are more lenient, but Low said naming a different squad for different games "is not the solution we want".

Julian Nagelsmann's side are just a point clear at the Bundesliga summit after three successive 1-1 draws, but they ended their winless run with a dominant showing at MEWA Arena on Wednesday.

Manchester City loanee Joao Cancelo assisted Choupo-Moting's opener just 17 minutes into his debut, before the striker teed up Leroy Sane on the stroke of half-time after Jamal Musiala's 30th-minute strike.

Substitute Alphonso Davies sealed the victory in the second half prior to Alexander Hack being dismissed late on, as Bayern picked up a first win of 2023 to remain on course for a first DFB-Pokal triumph since 2020.

Mainz did not heed the early warning signs against a dominant Bayern and were punished as Choupo-Moting expertly volleyed Cancelo's right-wing centre past Finn Dahmen at the far post.

Musiala doubled the visitors' advantage with a pinpoint left-footed finish into the bottom-right corner after Thomas Muller's delicate pass.

Joshua Kimmich then curled a free-kick from a tight angle against the left post, before Sane calmly finished from Choupo-Moting's throughball as a rampant Bayern ran riot in the first half.

Hack cleared Muller's deflected attempt off the line after the interval, while Anthony Caci whipped a rare Mainz chance narrowly wide at the other end.

Davies nodded Kimmich's right-wing cross past Dahmen for Bayern's fourth, before Hack was shown a second yellow card for a needless foul on Musiala as Bayern eased to victory.

Reigning English champions City last year became just the fourth club ever to top the list, which examines the top-performing football clubs in terms of revenue every year.

City remained the world's highest revenue-generating club in the 2021-22 campaign – the first season in which fans returned to stadiums as coronavirus restrictions were eased.

They made £619.1million (€731m) over that period to finish ahead of LaLiga giants Real Madrid (€713.8m), while Liverpool climbed from seventh to their highest position of third after making £594.3m (€701.7m).

Fellow English clubs Manchester United (fourth), Chelsea (eighth), Tottenham (ninth) and Arsenal (10th) also make the top 10, with West Ham (15th), Leicester City (17th), Leeds United (18th), Everton (19th) and Newcastle United (20th) in the top 20.

It marks the first time in the report's 26 years that a single country has provided more than half of the rich list.

"The Premier League was the only one of the big five European leagues to experience an increase in its media rights value during its most recent rights sale process," said Tim Bridge, the lead partner in Deloitte's Sports Business Group.

"It continues to appeal to millions of global followers and its member clubs have a greater revenue advantage over international rivals."

Paris Saint-Germain (fifth), Bayern Munich (sixth), Barcelona (seventh), Juventus (11th), Atletico Madrid (12th), Borussia Dortmund (13th), Inter (14th) and Milan (16th) make up the rest of the top 20.

In the women's game, Barcelona generated the highest revenue (€7.7m) after winning the Champions League in 2021 and reaching the final last year.

The reigning Premier League champions became just the fourth club ever to come top of the Deloitte list, which examines the top-performing football clubs in terms of revenue every year.

City's revenue of £571.1million (€644.9m) over 2020-21 saw them climb from sixth to first for 2022. Their annual figure has grown by nearly 45 times since the first year of the Money League covering the 1996-97 season.

Real Madrid (€640.7m) came second and Bayern Munich (€611.4m) were third and were the only two clubs to generate more than €600m of revenue in both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years.

Barcelona (€582.1m) fell to fourth, with Manchester United (€558m) in fifth, the lowest position they have ever occupied. Paris Saint-Germain (€556.2m), Liverpool (€550.4m), Chelsea (€493.1m), Juventus (€433.5m) and Tottenham (€406.2m) completed the top 10.

Premier League clubs dominate the higher rankings, with 11 teams from England's top flight in the top 20, including Wolves for the first time.

Matchday revenues across the leagues fell to an all-time low of €111m, or one per cent of the clubs' total revenue, due to the impact of playing behind-closed-door matches during the heigh of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe.

Broadcast revenue increased by €1.4billion from 2019-20, but that was largely put down to the distribution of funds being deferred after domestic competitions were put on hold and then completed later in the year.

In total, the clubs in the Money League generated €8.2bn in revenue, an increase of less than one per cent on 2019-20 and more than €1bn lower than in 2018-19.

"Money League clubs have missed out on well over €2bn of revenue over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons as a result of COVID-19," Deloitte said.

Mane, 30, previously won the award in 2019, and earned it again after helping Senegal win their first African Cup of Nations crown, while being named Player of the Tournament.

In the process, he became Senegal's all-time leading goalscorer, finding the net 33 times from 91 senior caps.

Mane and Salah have now split the past four African Player of the Year awards evenly, with Salah winning in 2017 and 2018, and Mane now the winner in 2019 and 2022. The award was not given out in both 2020 and 2021.

Speaking with Goal ahead of the ceremony, Mane insisted he has a great relationship with Egyptian icon Salah.

"People sometimes say there's a rivalry between me and [Salah], but you know I don’t see myself having a rivalry with any player to be honest," he said.

"We have good relations, we text each other. I think the media always try to [aggravate] things.

"You know I don’t just have [relationships] with one player, but with every player I’ve played with in the world. 

"You can ask whoever you want in the club, or wherever I go. I have good relationships with all players."

Mane's time with Bayern has started well, scoring from the penalty spot just five minutes into his debut friendly against D.C. United this week in a 6-2 win.

Mane joined the Reds from Southampton in 2016 and spent six successful years at the club, winning both the Premier League and the Champions League.

And while the 30-year-old now plies his trade in the Bundesliga, he says he will always have fond memories of playing for Liverpool.

"Honestly, I will never forget my time there," Mane told UEFA.com.

"I learned a lot – as a man and as a football player. The supporters were amazing, the people from the city were amazing. It is a club that will stay in my heart forever.

"It is also a legendary club – they have won everything. And also, it is the club that had all the best Champions League nights."

Mane cited the 2019 Champions League final win against Tottenham in Madrid as a particular highlight, adding: "I remember the second goal that Divock Origi scored very well. I was over the moon at that moment. I couldn't believe it.

"I just thought back to my childhood, when I was watching the Champions League. I found myself playing a final and, more importantly, winning it.

"It was amazing – 2019 was an outstanding year. The celebrations, the club, you just had to be there to understand. I think over half a million people were out in the streets waiting for us to parade our trophy. It was just beautiful."

The Senegal international has endured a mixed start to his Bayern career, scoring three in three league games to start the season but then going on a run of five appearances without a goal in all competitions before finally finding the net again in Friday's 4-0 thumping of Bayer Leverkusen.

And he admitted his move to Germany had not all been plain sailing so far, saying: "Switching from one club to another is not easy.

"I spent eight very nice years in England, six years at Liverpool [after] two at Southampton, and now I am in a new country. It is not easy because everything changes so suddenly, people, training, everything.

"Everything is changing so it is not easy at all. I need to adapt. I knew that and it came as no surprise. It is happening just the way I imagined it.

"People here are welcoming, and they're real players. People around the club are amazing so I am very happy.

"We have a very, very young squad. It's the first time in my career that I have been part of such a young group. What really stands out to me is that they're all hungry. They all want to develop and they're attentive too.

"Training sessions are as intense as the games. It's important as I think it makes a real difference and it shows. It’s so easy to play alongside these youngsters, who are massively talented and promising."

A mainstay of the Croatia national team, Mandzukic hit an extra-time winner in the 2018 World Cup semi-final against Gareth Southgate's team, before scoring at both ends in the 4-2 final defeat to France.

He became the first player to score an own goal in a World Cup final to give France an early lead, before capitalising on a Hugo Lloris mistake to give Croatia late hope.

His retirement announcement, issued on Instagram, was in the form of a letter to his younger self, with Mandzukic saying he should "just be ready around [the] 109th minute" should he ever face England at the World Cup.

That was the minute in which he fired past Jordan Pickford to send Croatia into their first World Cup final as 2-1 winners over England.

Mandzukic's career took off in his early twenties at Dinamo Zagreb, and he was signed by German outfit Wolfsburg in 2010 before moving on two years later to Bayern Munich, for whom he scored in the 2013 Champions League final win over Borussia Dortmund, also winning the Bundesliga twice.

Only Robert Lewandowski (44 goals) and Stefan Kiessling (40) scored more than the 33 Bundesliga goals that Mandzukic managed across his two campaigns at Bayern.

A year followed at Atletico Madrid before Mandzukic enjoyed four seasons at Juventus, winning the Serie A title each time and scoring a memorable goal in the Bianconeri's Champions League final loss to Real Madrid in 2017.

He had a spell at Qatari side Al-Duhail and played the last football of his career for Milan in the second half of last season.

Mandzukic, who scored 33 goals in 89 matches for Croatia, addressed his farewell letter to 'little Mario' and wrote: "While you put on these boots for the first time, you can't even imagine what you will get to experience in football.

"You'll score goals at the biggest stages and you'll win the biggest trophies with the biggest clubs. Proudly representing your nation, you will help write the history of Croatian sports.

"You'll succeed because you'll have good people around you – teammates, coaches, fans, and family, agent and friends who will always be there for you. You'll be forever grateful to all of them!

"Above all, you'll succeed because you'll always give your best. At the end, that's what you'll be most proud of. You'll sacrifice a lot, but you'll know it was worth it because of all the amazing moments.

"You'll recognise the moment to retire, to put these boots in a cabinet and you'll have no regrets. Football will always be a part of your life, but you'll look forward to a new chapter.

"P.S. If you happen to play vs England in the World Cup, just be ready around [the] 109th minute."

Mandzukic's winner in that clash with England came from his third goal attempt in the game, all of which he got on target. That was a lesson to an England side who collectively only put two of their 11 efforts on target.

"What a career Big Mario," said former Juve team-mate Blaise Matuidi. "Congratulations you are a legend."

LaLiga giants Barca and Serie A champions Juve were paired together in Group G, along with Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros. 

Messi and Ronaldo have played against each other five times in the Champions League, the former on the winning side twice and as many matches ending in a draw.  While Ronaldo has managed a solitary win, he has failed to score in their previous meetings.

Bayern Munich, who defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to be crowned champions of Europe for a sixth time in Lisbon in August, will come up against Atletico Madrid in Group A.

PSG were drawn with Manchester United, RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir in what looks a tough Group H, while Liverpool - winners of the competition in 2019 - will lock horns with Ajax, Atalanta and Midtjylland in Group D. 

Real Madrid are in Group B with Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter and Borussia Monchengladbach, while Europa League holders Sevilla have Chelsea for company in Group E, along with Krasnodar and Rennes. 

Group C comprises of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, Porto, Olympiacos and Marseille, while Zenit, Borussia Dortmund and Lazio are joined by Club Brugge in Group F. 

The final will be staged at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on May 29, 2021.

Champions League group stage draw:

Group A: Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Salzburg, Lokomotiv Moscow 
Group B: Real Madrid,  Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter, Borussia Monchengladbach 
Group C: Porto, Manchester City, Olympiacos, Marseille 
Group D: Liverpool, Ajax, Atalanta, Midtjylland 
Group E: Sevilla, Chelsea, Krasnodar, Rennes 
Group F: Zenit, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio, Club Brugge 
Group G: Juventus, Barcelona, Dynamo Kiev, Ferencvaros 
Group H: Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, RB Leipzig, Istanbul Basaksehir

Ligue 1 was curtailed and a streamlined version of the Champions League knockout rounds took place in Lisbon in August, before a new season got under way.

There have still been plenty of performances to savour, though, and Stats Perform News has used Opta data to calculate a Team of the Year from the top five European leagues.

Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi made the grade in 2020 but the same could not be said of Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, while Kylian Mbappe earned a spot that his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Neymar could not.

Supporters of Premier League clubs may not be rejoicing about the selections, which were made based solely on data.

Goalkeeper: Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)

Atletico lead the way in LaLiga on goal difference and have two games in hand on nearest rivals Real Madrid. Diego Simeone's side owe much of their success to Oblak, who has kept 17 clean sheets in 33 LaLiga appearances this year – the most of any keeper in the division during the same period.

Right-back: Juan Cuadrado (Juventus)

Juve won a ninth straight Scudetto this year and Cuadrado has played an important role throughout 2020, creating 45 chances (including seven assists) for the Bianconeri in Serie A – only Paulo Dybala (56) supplied more key passes for the club.

Centre-back: Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)

Bayern Munich may be the dominant force in the Bundesliga, but Hummels has continued to show his worth since returning to Dortmund. He made the most interceptions (57) and completed the most passes (2,056) of any Bundesliga defender in 2020.

Centre-back: Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig)

France international Upamecano is one of the hottest properties in European football and has been linked with a host of elite clubs. He shows great coolness in possession – as evidenced by him completing 24 of the 33 dribbles he attempted for a success rate of 73 per cent, the best of any Bundesliga defender to try at least 30.

Left-back: Theo Hernandez (Milan)

While Upamecano has established himself with Les Bleus, Hernandez's continued absence from the France set-up despite stellar showings for a resurgent Milan remains a source of much debate. The Rossoneri will end the year top of Serie A and Hernandez has been directly involved in 102 shots (46 chances created, 56 attempts on goal) in the league in 2020. That is more than any other defender in the same period.

Centre midfield: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

Kimmich's looping goal against Dortmund at the back end of last season was pivotal to Bayern retaining their German league title, which came as part of a treble. It has been the Germany international's distribution that has stood out this year, though. He completed an average of 75 passes per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga in 2020, the most of any midfielder in the competition to feature for at least 1,000 minutes.

Centre midfield: Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)

Madrid regained the title in LaLiga in 2020, with Kroos a central figure in Zinedine Zidane's midfield. Of all players who attempted at least 1,000 passes in the opposition half in the Spanish top flight this year, Kroos was the only one who had a completion rate higher than 90 per cent.

Right wing: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

This year may have proved to be terminal to Messi's tight relationship with Barcelona, and while he was not quite up to his previous goalscoring exploits he still proved massively influential in the final third. He was the only player in LaLiga in 2020 to both score at least 15 goals and register as many assists.

Attacking midfield: Alejandro 'Papu' Gomez (Atalanta)

His time with Atalanta may seemingly be coming to an end after a falling-out with Gian Piero Gasperini, but Gomez has been one of the club's most important players. He had more assists (12) and created more chances (81) in Serie A this year than any of his team-mates.

Left wing: Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

PSG were crowned Ligue 1 champions despite the season being cut short in April, meaning they have played just 26 games this year. Mbappe only featured in 21 of those, but he was still directly involved in 24 goals (19 scored, five assisted) which was more than any other player in the competition in 2020.

Striker: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

It was no surprise to see Lewandowski named The Best FIFA Men's Player after an incredible campaign with Bayern. He scored 32 Bundesliga goals in 26 appearances this year and only five of them were spot-kicks. His tally of 27 non-penalty goals was the most of any player in the top five European leagues.

Muller was asked whether he would prefer to have Messi or Ronaldo as a colleague in a remote news conference on Wednesday.

The Bayern forward recognised his style of play would work better with Ronaldo than with Messi, yet he claimed Lewandowski would top both.

Former Germany international Muller has 18 assists in the Bundesliga this season, while Lewandowski has netted 29 times as Bayern march towards another title.

However, the World Cup winner did acknowledge Messi and Ronaldo are "outstanding" and cannot be compared to other players.

"Maybe in my past years I would like to play with Leo Messi, because in the first six or seven years of my career, I was more the receiving striker," Muller said.

"I got the ball in the box and tried to score. In the moment right now, in my very good shape at the moment, I assist many goals.

"Maybe now I need more a Cristiano Ronaldo to score the goals, but we at Bayern have Robert 'Lewan-goal-ski'! I think maybe right now he is the better option than Cristiano.

"I played against both [Messi and Ronaldo], I won against both, I lost against both.

"They are very, very good, they are special, they are not like normal very good players in the world of football. They are outstanding because they play always at the limit.

"Always, their whole 10 years, they score 50 goals each year. That's crazy.

"On my way to the World Cup, we won with Germany against both. On my way to several Champions League finals, we won against both.

"Every football player needs also the team, and that's why we love football so much."

The latest edition of the long-running title will be released at the start of October and will see Messi representing a team other than Barcelona for the first time.

Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain in August and will give gamers the chance to line up with him, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe all in the same front three.

With a rating of 93, Messi will be the game's best player, excluding icons and special Ultimate Team cards.

The ratings of Neymar and Mbappe were also among those revealed on Monday, with the pair among five players on 91 – the other three are Cristiano Ronaldo, Jan Oblak and Kevin De Bruyne.

Of course, the game will give Manchester United fans the chance to include Ronaldo in their Red Devils side after he completed his return to the club following a 12-year absence.

Messi aside, the only other player to be rated higher than Ronaldo is Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.

He broke Gerd Muller's long-standing record of 40 Bundesliga goals in a single season in 2020-21 as he netted 41 times en route to the title.

But it was not enough to topple Messi.

Even in a season that was largely underwhelming for Barcelona, Messi still managed to score 30 LaLiga goals and he set up another nine – only four players had more assists.

This perhaps goes some way to explaining why the six-time Ballon d'Or winner just pips Lewandowski to top-billing despite the latter's historic campaign.

FIFA 22's top 22 players:

Lionel Messi, Paris Saint-Germain – 93

Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich – 92

Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United – 91

Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City – 91

Kylian Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain – 91

Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain – 91

Jan Oblak, Atletico Madrid – 91

Harry Kane, Tottenham – 90

N'Golo Kante, Chelsea – 90

Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich – 90

Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Barcelona – 90

Mohamed Salah, Liverpool – 89

Gianluigi Donnarumma, Paris Saint-Germain – 89

Karim Benzema, Real Madrid – 89

Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool – 89

Joshua Kimmich, Bayern Munich – 89

Son Heung-min, Tottenham – 89

Alisson, Liverpool – 89

Thibaut Courtois, Real Madrid – 89

Casemiro, Real Madrid – 89

Ederson, Manchester City – 89

Sadio Mane, Liverpool – 89

Head coach Low shocked German football in March 2019 when he announced World Cup-winning stalwarts Muller, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng were no longer in his plans.

Muller, who has 100 caps for Germany, said at the time he was "totally dumbfounded by this decision out of the blue".

The 30-year-old has been in fine form since the turn of the year, scoring in four consecutive games for Bayern before Sunday's 0-0 draw with Bundesliga title rivals RB Leipzig at the Allianz Arena.

Some had suggested this could be enough to persuade Low to reconsider his position on Muller, but the Germany coach told Sky on Sunday: "The probability [of a recall] is relatively low if everyone is fit.

"Thomas has scored a few times in the second half of the season. I am pleased, but I said we would go with the young players. That is what we have to maintain.

"However, if things should happen that you do not expect, it is clear you will have to look again."

Speaking after the draw with Leipzig, Muller said: "I'm not interested in it at all. I care about this team [Bayern] and winning trophies with them, ideally three."

Sunday's result means Bayern remain one point ahead of Leipzig at the Bundesliga summit.

Although the title was already secured, Hansi Flick's side were ruthless at the Allianz Arena as Robert Lewandowski scored twice and set up Joshua Kimmich for another goal.

It was a dominant display from Bayern despite them having made changes to their regular line-up and meant they claimed a club-record 15th-straight win in all competitions.

Lewandowski's goals also moved him on to 33 for the league season, setting a new best for a non-German player in Bundesliga history.

Muller was frustrated not to have scored himself but was proud of the way they kept up their winning momentum.

"We wanted to be greedy," he said. "All teams have ambitious goals before matches. We're doing a very good job at the moment. It's down to our inner motivation that entitles us to play for Bayern and enables us to push ourselves to our limits week in, week out.

"We're expected to achieve nothing but success. We've dedicated ourselves to that. We showed superb energy today. It's a shame we didn't score in the second half. I should have added my name to the scoresheet at least once."

Kimmich wants them to maintain their winning run to boost their chances of a treble, with the DFB-Pokal final against Bayer Leverkusen to come and the Champions League set to return in August.

"You saw we're hungry and greedy, that we wanted to win the match even though we've already won the title," he said. "We want fair competition, we want to keep up our rhythm, even if nothing's at stake anymore.

"It's a special kind of mentality. A lot of work has gone into it. We don't only push ourselves on matchdays; it begins in training, in our preparations.

"We still have ambitious goals this season. We absolutely want to win the cup final and go on the attack in the Champions League and use our momentum. We didn't always dominate because of individual quality. It was often down to our mentality, fighting and will to win."

Head coach Flick is also keen to keep Bayern's momentum going, adding: "We wanted to be in control, create chances and put our opponents under pressure. It's just the way we play.

"I'm really pleased with it. But the players share the goals around, which is why it's working so well at the moment. It's important to keep up our rhythm after winning the title. We want to use our matches for that. It worked out very well today, and we want to build on it again away to Wolfsburg."

Muller gave Bayern the opening goal with a penalty before Serge Gnabry made it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time with a fine effort that ultimately proved to be the winner.

Cologne pulled one back late on as they enjoyed some pressure of their own, but Bayern – who rested talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski – did just enough to take the points.

Neither Muller nor Flick were impressed, however, with the former particularly vocal after the match.

"It was a laboured victory, especially because we unfortunately missed the chance to score the third goal at the beginning of the second half," Muller said.

"Then anything could have happened until the final whistle. It wasn't a glitzy or glamorous performance. We'll take it as it is.

"We certainly too often lost the ball carelessly and acted a bit too casually during the game. Cologne lay deep a lot. They did that well.

"Nevertheless, we could have been a bit more clinical in a couple of situations and got at goal more. The passion was there to take the victory with us. I'm not criticising ourselves, but we've definitely been better."

Flick added: "It was a deserved win in the end, but we made life difficult for ourselves. The game cost us too much energy. I'm happy with the result, not so much with the game.

"I'm satisfied with the attitude, mentality and the will to win. We made life difficult for ourselves with our mistakes in the passing game.

"We could have made the win easier. We let Cologne get back into the game."

Despite the underwhelming performance, Bayern have now won 31 of their previous 32 games in all competitions, only failing to do so on the second matchday of the 2020-21 Bundesliga campaign at Hoffenheim when they lost 4-1.

Similarly, the two goals in Cologne took Bayern to 24 in the Bundesliga this term, a record after six matches in the competition.

Martinez headed the decisive goal in Thursday's Super Cup final, securing a 2-1 victory after extra time following first-half goals from Leon Goretzka and Sevilla's Lucas Ocampos.

It was the second time the midfielder has come up with a crucial goal as a substitute in this fixture, having also scored in the 121st minute against Chelsea in 2013 as Bayern reached a penalty shoot-out and won the title.

The familiar circumstances were not lost on Muller or Martinez, who had been on the pitch just shy of five minutes.

Muller told UEFA.com: "We're delighted, it's unbelievable. We're so tired after 120 minutes against Sevilla, a tough opponent.

"We fought hard and showed as a team that we have that winner's mentality, even when we're not at our best.

"Congratulations to the team and to Javi Martínez, our Mr Super Cup."

Martinez made just 24 appearances for Bayern last season without scoring but told Sky Sport: "I always want to give 100 per cent for Bayern and I showed that today.

"Even if I only play 10 or 15 minutes, I try to help the team and I did that today with my goal.

"I'm really happy to win this trophy for a second time. I also scored in 2013, so it's a great night."

The result means it is now 23 wins in a row for Bayern, who have gone 32 games without defeat.

Bundesliga champions Bayern confirmed Muller's absence on Thursday, just hours before they were due to face the Mexican side at the Education City Stadium in Qatar.

Muller is the latest player in Bayern's squad to return a positive test for COVID-19, with Javi Martinez and Leon Goretzka both having not travelled.

The 31-year-old has isolated and, upon returning to Munich, will immediately quarantine. There were no further positive tests recorded in Bayern's squad.

Bayern are also without Jerome Boateng against Tigres after he returned to Germany following the death of his ex-girlfriend.

Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Bayern defeat Al Ahly 2-0 in Monday's semi-final to book their fixture with Tigres.

Handed his Bayern bow as the European champions’ international stars sat out the DFB-Pokal first-round tie with Duren, Choupo-Moting scored twice in a 3-0 win on Thursday and earned the penalty for Muller to net the other goal.

The striker, who played for Paris Saint-Germain against Bayern in last season's Champions League final, signed for the treble winners on transfer deadline day.

Muller has already been impressed by his impact on and off the pitch, telling SPORT1: "[Choupo-Moting] brings the wit, he also makes jokes off the pitch.

"He fits in well with our style of play because he is also technically good with the ball. If he maintains this strike rate, he'll fit."

Choupo-Moting served as support to Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Mauro Icardi and Edinson Cavani at PSG.

Bayern do not quite have the same wealth of striking options, but the 31-year-old still finds himself behind Lewandowski, Europe's leading scorer last season.

Choupo-Moting is happy enough with that role, though, explaining: "I have huge respect for Lewy, who was deservedly voted the best striker of last season.

"If I get my minutes after him, that's okay, and if we play together, then all the better. I'll try to play as much as possible."

Of his debut, Choupo-Moting added: "We did well and I'm happy that we won the game and that I was able to score my first goals for Bayern.

"I feel 100 per cent Bayern Munich. I hope that there will be a little more power over time - that's what I work on in training and I'm up for it."

The 17-year-old attacking midfielder has made his first-team breakthrough under Hansi Flick this season, appearing from the bench five times in Germany's top flight before Saturday's encounter.

His concluding goal in the 8-0 rout of Schalke made Musiala Bayern's youngest ever goalscorer, having already become the youngest player in the Bavarian club's history when he came off the bench against Freiburg last term.

Musiala returned to duty for Bayern this week having won his first England Under-21 cap during the international break, finding the net in a 5-0 win over Albania.

Formerly of Chelsea's academy, Musiala was born in Germany and remains eligible to represent either England or Die Mannschaft at full international level.

At the other end of the experience spectrum, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will make his 400th appearance for Bayern in all competitions.

Niklas Sule is short of match fitness, while fellow defender Bouna Sarr is out with a muscular problem as Flick's side aim to increase their two-point lead over RB Leipzig at the Bundesliga summit.

After making his debut in June 2020, Bayern teenager Musiala has become a regular fixture in the Bundesliga champions' first-team squad, featuring in 15 games and scoring three goals this season.

The 17-year-old switched from Chelsea's youth academy to Bayern in July 2019 - aged 16 - before becoming Bayern's youngest ever senior player and their youngest goalscorer. 

Born in Stuttgart to a German mother and an English-Nigerian father, Musiala moved to London aged seven and represented England from Under-15 to U21 levels, as well as Germany U16s.

Although he last played for England against Albania in November 2020, Musiala remains eligible for both nations and it has been reported that a tug-of-war has been ongoing for some time.

The highly rated youngster has reportedly been contacted by England manager Gareth Southgate and Germany head coach Joachim Low, but Ballack insisted Musiala should only play for Die Mannschaft if he is fully committed.

"We talk about the German national team. It should consist of players that meet the requirements and really want to play for this team," Ballack, who earned 98 caps for Germany, told Stats Perform News.

"It also needs to meet the rules and everything else needs to be decided from the national coach."

Lewandowski was in incredible form as Bayern Munich won a treble in 2019-20, but the award was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the 33-year-old has maintained his incredible standards and was named on the 30-man shortlist for this year's prize.

Last season, the centre-forward broke Gerd Muller's long-standing record of Bundesliga goals in a single season, netting 41 times in the league and scoring seven more across all other club competitions, the most of any player in Europe's top five leagues. 

Lewandowski has not surrendered that position this season, with his 13 strikes in all competitions lifting him above second and third-placed Erling Haaland and Karim Benzema, on 11 and 10 goals respectively.

The Poland captain feels his astonishing level of production makes a good case for him to win the award, despite competition from the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Benzema and six-time winner Lionel Messi.

"The possibility of winning the Ballon d'Or means a lot to me, it makes me feel proud, if you look at everything I've achieved, not just this year, last year as well when they cancelled the ceremony, I've won a lot of titles, scored a lot of goals," Lewandowski told Marca.

"It would mean a lot to me to win it, having won the Champions League, the Super Cup, the Club World Cup. Breaking Gerd Muller's record of [40] Bundesliga goals [in a single season] was also a big achievement, one which made me very proud and happy.

"Everyone can see what I have done and keep doing. My achievements speak for themselves because my last two years have been a big achievement, not just for me but for any player in history."

Of his many achievements over the last two years, breaking revered goalscorer Muller's record is one of the most special to Lewandowski, who surpassed the late Bayern legend on the final day of the 2020-21 Bundesliga season with a 90th-minute strike in a 5-2 victory over Augsburg.

"I have to say that I couldn't sleep well [the night I broke Muller's record]," Lewandowski continued. "I remember the week before the game well, I heard I was on the verge of breaking the record. Until then the importance of breaking it hadn't really dawned on me, not just for the Bundesliga but in terms of football history.

"The day of the match I thought "this is mentally tough because it's all anyone is talking about". I knew I was so close, on the verge of making history, it was hard, but after scoring in the final seconds of the game I said to myself, "this is like a Hollywood movie."

"I was very proud of myself, of my team-mates, because they helped me a lot to break the record. To be honest, I still can't truly appreciate the magnitude of it, but I know what it means to people, they remember that record stood for [nearly] 50 years."