Vincent Kompany lauded the influence of Thomas Muller after the Bayern Munich forward capped his record-breaking outing with a goal against Freiburg.
Muller made his 710th appearance across all competitions for Bayern, coming off the bench to overtake the record for the most outings for the club, set by goalkeeper Sepp Maier, who retired in 1979.
The Germany veteran marked the milestone in style, scoring to seal a 2-0 victory for Bayern after Harry Kane was also on target with a penalty on Sunday.
Muller made his Bayern debut back in 2008 when Kompany appeared in his final club appearance in Germany, before the Belgian boss left Hamburg to join Manchester City.
Their careers have now met once again, with Kompany moving to the touchline, and the Bayern head coach is delighted to have reunited with Muller in a bizarre twist of fate.
"Outstanding. I witnessed his first game. I was there with Hamburg on this pitch. 710 games later, it's unbelievable," Kompany said.
"He gave 100% in 710 games, but not only in the games, but also in training. That's what makes Thomas so special.
"There are a few more games that he can still play and we are definitely pleased that he's got a few more in his locker and the fact that he can keep going like this, it's so important for us."
Muller has now found the net in a joint-record 16 successive German top-flight seasons, matching Holger Fach, Mats Hummels, Bernd Nickel, Olaf Thon and Michael Zorc.
His 150th Bundesliga goal on Sunday, sweeping home from Serge Gnabry's cross, marked the perfect end to a special day for the 34-year-old.
As for Bayern overall, Kompany said his side's performance dipped after the break, but luckily he has players like Muller he can call upon when the need arises.
"Very positive first half, and then in the second half we were just one step later than Freiburg on second balls, and we lost a little bit of the momentum," he said.
"But then I have to say that we're very fortunate to have very good players that can come on and make the difference, and Thomas Muller came on, Kingsley Coman too, and the players from the bench were very important for us to win this game.
"Positives and things to learn and we also got to celebrate a fantastic moment for Thomas Muller and that was important as well for us today."
Sane set for Bayern return after surgery, says Kompany
Leroy Sane is available for Bayern Munich's game at Holstein Kiel after missing their opening two matches following a groin operation.
Sane featured in all five games for Germany at Euro 2024 before undergoing surgery in July, and also returns in time for the start of Bayern's Champions League campaign at home to Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday.
"We have a lot of players, and we need all of them. Aside from the long-term injuries, all the players are fit," Kompany told reporters.
"We've got a week with three matches coming up, and we're looking forward to it. Leroy will also be in the squad."
Sane also struggled with injuries towards the end of last season, making just one appearance in Bayern's final seven league games, having scored eight goals in their opening nine matches.
"He had a really good first half of last season and was involved in a lot of goals," Bayern's sporting director Christoph Freund said.
"In the early part of this year, he had constant battles with injuries and pain, but he battled on and played through it.
"The nice thing now is that he's pain-free. We're glad he's back and properly fit."
Bayern face promoted side Kiel, who are in the Bundesliga for the first time, on Saturday, and Kompany knows what it is like to take a side up from the second tier after his time in England with Burnley.
"I experienced it myself last year. We completely dominated in the second division with Burnley, and then we got promoted to a different league and struggled," Kompany said.
"But you do all the work for exactly these games and I imagine that Kiel are looking forward to it.
"They're flexible and good on the ball. They were dominant last season and even though they've been promoted, that's stayed in the team."
Alonso hopeful Leverkusen can bounce back despite short turnaround
Xabi Alonso is hopeful the short time he has had with his Bayer Leverkusen players will be sufficient to get them back to winning ways against Hoffenheim.
Leverkusen's 35-game unbeaten run in the Bundesliga ended in their last match, losing just their second game of the campaign at home to RB Leipzig after going the whole of the last league season without a defeat.
The international break has since reduced their preparation time for the trip to Hoffenheim, but Alonso remains optimistic about their chances of bouncing back.
"It was an express preparation, with an express meeting with the team, and individual discussions," Xabi Alonso told reporters on Friday.
"Friday is our last training session with the whole team. Of course, we don't have a lot of time to prepare for Saturday, but that's our normal dynamic.
"We will see if this express meeting was efficient or not."
Leverkusen needed a late goal to snatch a 3-2 win at Borussia Monchengladbach in their opener, before going down 3-2 against Leipzig, but the manager does not believe it is all doom and gloom.
"We're doing a lot of things very well, but there are a few things we need to improve to reach our best level," he said.
"There aren't too many things, but there are important things to improve. Hopefully, we have a better performance, a more complete performance.
"It's a football and a mentality issue. We have to improve tactically, with the ball, but also with our mentality and concentration to improve and be a bit better."
The coach said that all his players returned healthy from international duty, and he took the time to back his defender Jonathan Tah after the German came under criticism from an opposition manager.
After the 2-2 Nations League draw between Germany and the Netherlands on Tuesday, Dutch manager Ronald Koeman said that Tah, who was replaced at half-time, had big problems and made a lot of mistakes.
"It's his opinion. My opinion is that Jonathan is a top player for us," Alonso said.
"What he did in the international break, the international game is not my topic. And he was here yesterday, in a good mood, with a good feeling, so that's my main concern."
Hull City 0-2 Sheffield United: Hamer and McCallum goals send Blades third
Sheffield United continued their fine start to the Championship with a comfortable 2-0 win away to Hull City.
Goals from Gustavo Hamer and Sam McCallum were enough to give Chris Wilder's side victory and send them up to third in the table.
The home side made an encouraging start to the game but fell behind after a stunning Blades counter-attack, with Callum O'Hare driving forward before playing in Hamer, who gave keeper Ivor Pandur no chance with a neat finish.
Hull went close to equalising through Abdulkadir Omar's free-kick, but he was thwarted by a flying save from Michael Cooper in the Sheffield United goal.
The away side doubled their advantage in the second half as substitute McCallum swept in a fine effort from Andre Brooks' cutback.
Marvin Mehlem nearly handed the Tigers a way back into the encounter, but his header crashed against the crossbar, leaving Hull 19th in the table, still without a league win this campaign.
Data debrief: Blades make best start in 12 years
With three wins and two draws under their belt in the Championship, Sheffield United will be proud of how they have adapted to life back in the second tier.
It marks their best start to a campaign since the 2012-13 season, which saw them go unbeaten in their first 16 games in League One.
Wilder also continued his good record as Blades boss at MKM stadium, winning a fourth successive match away to Hull after losing in February 2018, in his first spell in charge.
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