Jamal Musiala celebrated turning 20 with his 11th goal of the Bundesliga season as Bayern Munich returned to top spot by crushing title rivals Union Berlin 3-0 in wintry Bavaria.

A dusting of snow covered the Allianz Arena pitch at kick-off, and more fell during the game, but there was nothing flaky about the hosts.

Goals from Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Kingsley Coman and Musiala meant they led 3-0 at half-time against a team who began the game on the same points total as Bayern.

The outcome meant Bayern nudged ahead again in the title race, going above Borussia Dortmund on goal difference, with surprise interlopers Union now trailing the top two by three points.

Bayern were rewarded for early dominance in the 31st minute when Choupo-Moting at the far post looped a header across goal and into the corner from Coman's right-wing cross.

That was the striker's ninth goal of the season, completing a career set for the former Hamburg, Schalke and Mainz man, who has now netted against every current Bundesliga team.

It was 2-0 in the 40th minute when Thomas Muller's clever pass played in Coman who danced around goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow before burying a low finish.

Two soon became three, with Bayern on easy street as they struck again in first-half stoppage time, Muller the provider once more when his cutback from the byline on the right found Musiala to smash in from close range.

Sadio Mane came off the bench midway through the second half, replacing Choupo-Moting, as the former Liverpool forward appeared for the first time since suffering a leg injury in November that ruled him out of Senegal's World Cup campaign.

Mane teed up a glorious chance for Muller, with the veteran's shot hitting the head of goalkeeper Ronnow and going over the crossbar.

Fellow substitute Serge Gnabry lashed just wide as Bayern threatened to run riot, but they settled in the end for three.

Urs Fischer is not the kind of coach to get overexcited easily. Indeed, there has been little serious talk of a title charge at Union Berlin, despite the fact they have occupied one of the top three spots for much of the season.

"It's even more surreal than it was before the game," Fischer said after Union won 2-1 at RB Leipzig on February 11. "Forty-two points in the 20th round, what should I say?"

A week before, Fischer had insisted 40 points was the only target after Union scraped an unconvincing home win over Mainz.

But that target has been surpassed, and next up it's Bayern Munich, and if Union win, then why shouldn't their fans, players and even coach start to think that something magical could be just around the corner?

The only frustration for Union ahead of Sunday's trip to Allianz Arena is that they do not head to the home of the 10-time reigning champions as league leaders.

Bayern's defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach last Saturday handed Union, hosting lowly Schalke a day later, a chance to move top with a win. Yet a frustrating 0-0 draw, the first time they had dropped points since before the World Cup, instead sees them sit third, with Borussia Dortmund having leapfrogged into second.

All three teams sit on 43 points and, with 13 rounds of games remaining, the title race is wide open.

Union returned to form in style on Thursday, beating Dutch giants Ajax 3-1 at home to seal their progression in the Europa League.

"It really doesn't get any better. I'm not only proud of the team, we can all be proud of ourselves," said Fischer afterwards.

With the help of Opta data and a German football expert, Stats Perform looks at what has been behind Union's remarkable campaign.

More than one way to play

"Everybody is obsessed with pressing, pressing and pressing, leaving huge gaps for players to exploit," Lewis Ambrose, a football writer based in Berlin, told Stats Perform.

"Why I think [Union] are doing so well is they just don't buy into that. It's about protecting our box and the other team can have it as much as they want, they're just not allowed to do what they want with it."

The data suggests this is the case. Union head into Sunday's game with the fewest pressed sequences of any side in the Bundesliga.

On average, they allow their opponents 15.8 passes outside their own defensive third before a defensive action occurs. Opta defines this as passes per defensive action (PPDA).

PPDA is the number of opposition passes allowed outside the pressing team's own defensive third, divided by the number of defensive actions by the pressing team outside their own defensive third. Essentially, a lower number means a team presses more frequently, while a higher number suggests a more passive approach.

Union have won the ball back in the opposition's third on 76 occasions across 21 league games this season, the second-lowest total in the Bundesliga after Bayer Leverkusen (69). Heading into the weekend, they also ranked in the bottom six for high turnovers (151) and bottom four for shot-ending high turnovers (19), scoring just once from such situations.

Bayern, on the other hand, lead the league with 138 instances of winning possession in the opposition defensive third, while they have the lowest PPDA (10.4). Their six goals from high turnovers is a joint-league high along with Eintracht Frankfurt, while Bayern are way clear in terms of high turnovers (237) and shot-ending high turnovers (42).

But Union are going about things their own way, and it's one of the secrets to their success.

Defence first

"Most Bundesliga teams are happy to play in a 'you score three, we'll score four' type of way, and it all ties into nipping the ball high up the pitch," Ambrose explained.

"Union have gone 'let's make sure nobody takes the ball in our final third, and they'll come onto us and leave gaps that way'. 

"In a league where everybody plays one way, they play the complete opposite way."

Sunday's game is between the two sides to have outperformed their expected goals (xG) more than any other Bundesliga teams this season. 

Bayern's league-high 45.03 xG has been improved on by 15.97, with the team scoring 61 goals, and this is by far the biggest margin in the competition. Union, meanwhile, have netted 11.15 goals more than they would have been expected to, based on the quality of opportunities they have created and shots they have taken (35 goals from 23.85 xG).

Going the other way, Union have conceded the second-fewest goals in the league (24), behind only Bayern (21). Yet their defence has been the best when it comes to expected goals against (xGA).

Union have actually conceded close to four goals more than would have been anticipated. This, combined with their 23.7 expected goals on target conceded (xGOT), which gives more credit to shots that end up in the corners compared with shots that go straight down the middle of the goal, shows they have been subject to some quality finishing from the opposition.

An uncompromising coach

Fischer was hardly the most celebrated of defenders during his playing career, which he spent entirely in his home country of Switzerland.

His coaching career, too, saw him lead FC Zurich, Thun and Basel before he made the move to Germany's second tier in 2018. The rest, as they say, is history.

Fischer got Union promoted in his first season in charge and after securing 11th in the 2019-20 season, took them up to seventh the following year and a remarkable fifth last term.

He has overseen 123 Bundesliga matches, winning 53 (43.1), losing 38 and drawing the other 32. As you'd expect, his team do not score many (176 in 123 Bundesliga matches, an average of 1.4 per game), but equally they keep things tight, conceding 169. Fischer has averaged 1.55 points per game in the top flight.

Ambrose believes Union are the perfect fit for Fischer, saying: "I can't imagine Fischer taking one of the top jobs in Germany and doing well.

"The only way it's ever going to work is if every player buys in, leaves their ego at the door, parks that to one side and is willing to sacrifice having fun on the pitch. I'm sure they're having the time of their lives, but if they're willing to sacrifice any flair, ego, they have to fight for the team and every loose ball."

The noisy neighbours

Hertha Berlin have for years been the prominent club in Germany's capital, but as they struggle at the wrong end of the table after scraping to survival last season, it's Union who are taking the bragging rights.

Since Union's promotion in 2019, they have won six of the nine derby meetings with their city rivals, who have taken just two victories. Union have won the last four by an aggregate score of 12-4.

"They're the model club," Ambrose says. "They don't spend much money, the fans get involved, the results improve, whereas Hertha have pumped money in chasing magic results and fallen deeper into crisis."

Going all the way...

Bayern are unbeaten against Union Berlin in the Bundesliga (W4, D3) – they have only faced Rot-Weiss Oberhausen and SV Darmstadt (both eight times) more often in the top flight without ever losing. Indeed, Bayern are the only current top-flight side that Union have never managed to beat.

Yet a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture in August showed Union's mettle, and what better time to break their duck than now? After all, they have more league wins than Julian Nagelsmann's team this season (13 to 12) and have won each of their last three Bundesliga away games, equalling a club record.

Ambrose thinks Union will ultimately fall short due to results such as last week's draw to Schalke, but he sees no reason why the underdogs shouldn't believe they can pull off a sporting miracle.

"If they lose on Sunday, or finish six, seven points short, nobody is going to say they've failed," he said.

"I think they think they can [win the league] and they'll never admit it. They won't buy into the idea of a race, they're just riding the wave and enjoy it week by week.

"They'll back themselves to win any game at home because the atmosphere is brilliant and teams hate going there, and they'll probably back themselves to beat anyone away as well.

"There's no reason for them not to believe."

Thomas Muller will start Bayern Munich's clash with title rivals Union Berlin on Sunday after he was hauled off early on in the defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach.

Head coach Julian Nagelsmann replaced captain Muller with Joao Cancelo after just 16 minutes against Monchengladbach, making a tactical substitution with Bayern a goal behind and down to 10 men after Dayot Upamecano's early red card.

The champions went on to lose 3-2, another blow to their hopes of winning an 11th consecutive Bundesliga title as their challengers made ground.

Nagelsmann's decision to replace veteran Muller so early came under scrutiny after the match, having also chosen to start him on the bench for Bayern's 1-0 Champions League first-leg victory over Paris Saint-Germain.

With the Bavarian side facing shock title challengers Union this weekend, Nagelsmann confirmed the 33-year-old will be in the starting XI.

"Thomas is a very experienced player, he was told why the decision was made," Nagelsmann said at his pre-match press conference. "You can always discuss it afterwards. I spoke to Thomas at length and clearly he is not happy.

"He is very professional and an important player. His importance is huge because it goes beyond the game itself. He will start on Sunday. He is aware of the overall situation."

The slip-up against Monchengladbach allowed Borussia Dortmund and Union to both pull level on points with Bayern at the top, though the champions' goal difference means they clung onto their position at the summit.

Nagelsmann's men have picked up just nine of a possible 18 points since the turn of the year, while Sunday's opponents have taken 16 over the same period.

A tricky encounter is expected against Union, who have never won a Bundesliga match against Bayern in seven attempts.

"I'm expecting a top game," Nagelsmann said. "Union always bring their football onto the pitch, designed for counter-attacks, with their physicality. It's always uncomfortable to play them.

"It will definitely be an exciting and interesting game, hopefully with a better outcome for us."

Nagelsmann revealed Bayern could be boosted by the return at some point in the game of Sadio Mane, who has been absent since early November after suffering a leg injury that ruled him out of Senegal's World Cup campaign.

"Sadio Mane isn't fit enough to start," Nagelsmann added. "But he is an option that we're really happy about."

Marcus Thuram is poised to leave Borussia Monchengladbach on a free transfer at the end of the season amid reported interest from Chelsea and Inter.

Gladbach sporting director Roland Virkus gave the clearest indication yet on Sunday that Gladbach stand to lose the France international when his contract expires at the end of June.

Numerous clubs from Europe's elite have been credited with an interest in Thuram, with Inter reportedly leading the chase alongside competition from Chelsea and Gladbach's Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich.

The 25-year-old has scored 11 goals and assisted three more in the Bundesliga this season, with only five players bettering his 14 goal involvements among German top-flight players.

Virkus, speaking to Sport1, appeared to acknowledge likely defeat in Gladbach's attempts to keep the son of France great Lilian Thuram.

He said: "With Marcus Thuram we stretched. We have to accept that when there are even bigger clubs where Marcus might go."

Virkus added: "The fact that players will leave us for free is not a positive situation and I can't sugarcoat it."

Gladbach sit eighth in the Bundesliga after Thuram scored in a 3-2 victory over 10-man Bayern on Saturday.

Julian Nagelsmann has been ordered to explain his behaviour towards the match officials after Bayern Munich's 3-2 defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach.

The German Football Association (DFB) will receive an official letter from disciplinary chiefs this week and his response will dictate whether further action follows.

Nagelsmann was left furious by Dayot Upamecano's red card in the eighth minute of Saturday's Bundesliga game, after the French defender tangled with Alassane Plea.

It was reported after the final whistle that Nagelsmann confronted referee Tobias Welz, reportedly storming through the media area to loudly knock on the official's door.

Nagelsmann described the red-card incident to reporters as "a minimal touch", but he has admitted he went overboard when confronting Welz and the referee's assistants.

Now the fiery reaction could see him facing punishment, with the DFB saying in a statement it was investigating Nagelsmann for "unsportsmanlike comments".

"As a first step, Julian Nagelsmann will be written to by the control committee at the beginning of the new week and asked to comment on the alleged incident," the DFB said.

"After the statement has been received and evaluated, the committee will decide on the further progress of the procedure."

Nagelsmann posted an apology on Twitter after the game, writing: "Emotions are part of sport. And given the red card, I had to vent after the game.

"However, I have to apologise for the choice of words to the team around Tobias Welz. Unfortunately I went too far there."

Julian Nagelsmann was left furious by Dayot Upamecano's red card as Bayern Munich suffered a 3-2 Bundesliga defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach.

Upamecano was sent off in the eighth minute after being adjudged to have brought down Alassane Plea, who got goal-side of the centre-back after a hopeful long ball.

Goals from Lars Stindl, Jonas Hofmann and Marcus Thuram lifted Gladbach to a deserved win. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting equalised after Stindl's opener for Bayern, but Mathys Tel's late strike was scant consolation.

The defeat leaves Bayern in danger of being knocked down to second place when Union Berlin face Schalke on Sunday, while Borussia Dortmund will have the chance to move level on points with Nagelsmann's Bavarians when they host Hertha Berlin.

But Nagelsmann seemed less concerned with Bayern's league position than confronting referee Tobias Welz, reportedly storming through the media area after the game to loudly knock on the match official's door.

Afterwards, he told Sky: "In my eyes, Upa has only a minimal touch on his shoulder, but he doesn't pull.

"And you can see in the slow motion that Plea's shoulder does not move back a millimetre."

Insisting Welz should have explained himself, Nagelsmann added: "You can decide all this, but maybe you could stand up after the game and say that the red card might have been a bit exaggerated.

"Everyone can live with it, he is also a person who sometimes makes mistakes."

Bayern's Alphonso Davies, meanwhile, expressed pride in the spirit they showed after going down to 10 men.

"It's tough having a red card so early in the match," Davies told Bundesliga.com.

"It's not good for any team, but we just kept fighting, we kept playing the way we knew how to play. We continued on.

"I mean, it's unfortunate with the red card. You know, it can happen to anyone. We don't put our head down. We kept our head up, we kept fighting."

Sadio Mane will return to Bayern Munich training on Sunday having missed three months with a fibula injury, but fellow forward Kingsley Coman will miss Saturday's trip to Borussia Monchengladbach.

Mane missed Senegal's run to the last 16 of the World Cup in Qatar after being required to undergo surgery in November.

Last month, coach Julian Nagelsmann suggested the former Liverpool man could be fit to feature in Bayern's Champions League last-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain, but he was not involved as the Bundesliga champions claimed a 1-0 first-leg lead in the French capital on Tuesday.

Mane is making progress in his recovery, though, and Nagelsmann believes heck could be involved in a matchday squad after as little as one week of full training.

"He will return to team training on Sunday," Nagelsmann said of Mane on Friday. "He doesn't have any problems anymore, and his rehab was built to give him a regular workload.

"He has to get back his technical and tactical feelings with the team, but he's experienced, and he will be back rather quickly.

"Theoretically, he could play again after being back in team training for a week."

Having Mane involved again will be a huge boost for the Bundesliga leaders, who take on second-placed Union Berlin after facing Monchengladbach.

However, Bayern will be without Coman at Borussia-Park on Saturday, with the Frenchman complaining of a calf issue after scoring the only goal of the game against former club PSG.

"Kingsley Coman will not be available, he will get back to practice at the start of next week," Nagelsmann said. "Serge Gnabry will play tomorrow. He played a lot before Christmas and scored a lot. 

"You need a good first XI that suits the opponent, but you also need good players that you can add to the mix. It always has to be a good balance."

Bayern's meeting with Gladbach will see goalkeeper Yann Sommer reunited with his former club, having made the move to Bavaria to cover for the injured Manuel Neuer in January.

"I'm very happy with his overall game. Against Paris, he was really called upon dramatically," Nagelsmann said of Sommer, who has kept three clean sheets in his last four games for Bayern.

"The goals he conceded in the Bundesliga were not easy. With the ball, with his presence, he's a really important part of the team. 

"It will be a special game for him, against his former club. They will say farewell to him ahead of this game, and it will be a special moment, but he's not 18 years of age, so he will be able to put that aside and deliver a strong performance."

Bayern Munich are falling behind their Champions League rivals and would welcome the abolition of Germany's '50+1' rules on club ownership, according to Uli Hoeness.

Honorary president Hoeness made the declaration on Thursday, in the hope the Deutsche Fußball Liga could relax its tight regulations.

The rule is designed to ensure club members hold 50 per cent of shares, plus one share, to stay in majority control.

There are exceptions, with Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg having been bankrolled by pharmaceutical giants Bayer and vehicle manufacturer Volkswagen, while Red Bull-owned RB Leipzig found a loophole to acquire the club in 2009, but the 50+1 guideline is otherwise strictly enforced.

Despite regularly outspending their domestic rivals, Bayern might cast an envious eye at clubs from other countries with their wealthy owners.

And while the Bundesliga champions have many routes to bringing in funds, Hoeness feels something needs to change.

The perception is that investors will only come in with game-changing money if they can take control of decisions, which the present rules prevent.

"We would be totally in favour of the 50+1 rule falling because we are falling behind internationally," said Hoeness. "We also have to give the smaller clubs opportunities to be competitive. I am in favour of each club making their own decisions."

The 71-year-old – a former player, general manager and president of Bayern – was speaking at an event staged by Hannover's Neue Presse.

Bayern won 1-0 at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday in the last-16 stage of the Champions League, snatching the first-leg advantage against the Qatari-owned French giants. It was a repeat scoreline from their meeting with PSG in the 2019-20 final.

PSG's heavy investment means they can name an all-star front three of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, when all are fit.

There is also reportedly strong Qatari interest in taking a major stake in Manchester United, while Newcastle United have big-spending Saudi owners and could soon be major players in the Champions League.

In contrast, Bayern have recently cast doubt on whether they will have sufficient funds to turn Joao Cancelo's loan from Manchester City into a permanent deal at the end of the season.

Hoeness pinpointed the Parisians as an example of a team with spending power that Bayern cannot match.

While he may want Bayern to be on more of a level playing field, it was a thrill this week for the German giants to take PSG's scalp.

"For comparison: Paris have €750million in personnel costs," Hoeness claimed. "But I have to say, I'm excited about winning against them. The game proved that money doesn't always score goals."

Joao Cancelo described reports he fell out with Pep Guardiola as a "lie" and said the Manchester City boss and the club "gave me everything".

Portugal full-back Cancelo joined Bayern Munich on loan for the rest of the season in one of the more surprising moves of the January transfer window.

Cancelo had found himself out of the team at the Etihad Stadium and it was suggested he had a bust-up with Guardiola.

However, the former Juventus defender said he is grateful for what Guardiola has done for his career.

Speaking to Movistar after Bayern beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, Cancelo said: "People who say that I fought with Guardiola [it] is a lie. 

"I didn't feel important in the team in the last games. I spoke with the coach and he also agreed. And together with the club we decided that I had to leave, that it was the best for me."

Cancelo's contract at City runs until June 2027 and he conceded it remains a possibility he will play for the club again in the future.

"I like the new opportunities, it's not against City," he added.

"I think that at City he has taken the step to the level he wanted to reach, that's where I became the player I am today. 

"I am grateful to both Pep and the club because they gave me everything. My daughter was born in Manchester and it's a club I'll never forget. 

"And who knows, in football you never know and at the end of the year I can return."

Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann demanded a much improved performance from his side in their Champions League last-16 first leg against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

The Bundesliga leaders stretched their unbeaten league run to 13 games on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Bochum thanks to goals from Thomas Muller, Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry.

Nagelsmann was less than impressed with his side's display, though, and challenged his players to improve dramatically for the mouth-watering clash in Paris.

"We're not in the flow," he told Sky Sport.

"I think if we had played at full throttle, which is fun, and if we moved properly and brought a little enthusiasm onto the field, then I think in the first six minutes we should have led by two or three goals to nil.

"We had huge chances. But that's a bit like the three games we drew, we lacked the finishing. Overall, it wasn't a good game from either team.

"In the end, we didn't show enough life, and we don't have a super flow now.

"We have to put in an outstanding game in Paris, even if [Kylian] Mbappe might be out, because they're just a world-class team.

"If we play like that on Tuesday, it won't be enough to go through."

Muller's goal came in his 428th league outing for Bayern, which took him clear of Gerd Muller as the outfield player with the most Bundesliga appearances for the club.

Only goalkeepers Sepp Maier (473) and Oliver Kahn (429) now stand between him and the outright club record.

The 33-year-old's match ended at half-time when he was replaced by Alphonso Davies, but Nagelsmann said his withdrawal was precautionary.

"He indicated on the way in that he had a bit of a calf problem," the Bayern boss explained.

"I hope he doesn't have anything. It's nothing bad; it was more of a precautionary measure. It was just too much risk for me that he had anything there."

Thomas Muller marked a record-breaking appearance for Bayern Munich with the opener in the champions' 3-0 win over Bochum on Saturday.

Muller's 428th league outing for Bayern took him clear of Gerd Muller as the outfield player with the most Bundesliga appearances for the club, with just goalkeepers Sepp Maier (473) and Oliver Kahn (429) now standing between him and the outright club record.

The 33-year-old, who was taken off at half-time after sustaining an injury, gave Bayern the lead in the 41st minute, before Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry's penalty sealed all three points in the second half. 

The result moved Bayern three points clear at the league summit, although Union Berlin can move back to within a point with victory over RB Leipzig in Saturday's late game.

Bayern went close to opening the scoring in the 15th minute when Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's back-post header from Joao Cancelo's cross clipped the outside of the post.

The hosts were gifted the opener four minutes before the interval when Muller latched onto Saidy Janko's short backpass and rolled into an empty net after he had initially been thwarted by Manuel Riemann.

It should have been 2-0 before half-time, yet Leon Goretzka inexplicably headed wide from inside the six-yard box after Riemann had kept out Matthijs de Ligt's header.

Bayern did grab a second in the 64th minute when Coman, who had replaced Cancelo four minutes earlier, powered through the legs of Riemann after being played in by Jamal Musiala. 

Janko's dismal display reached a new low in the 73rd minute when he tripped Gnabry in the area, with the Germany international slotting home a third from the resulting spot-kick.
 

What does it mean? Bayern inflict more away-day misery on Bochum

Bayern were far from their best against a side they beat 7-0 earlier in the season, but a routine win extended their unbeaten run in the league to 13 games and cranked the pressure up on Union Berlin.

Bochum, meanwhile, have now lost 10 of their 11 Bundesliga away games this season. The last time they suffered this many defeats on the road at this stage of a campaign was in the 1992-93 season when they were relegated.

Gnabry excels

Gnabry was a handful throughout for Bochum's defenders and deservedly got on the scoresheet late on. The winger had more touches (104) and shots (six) than any other player on the pitch, while his tally of eight crosses was not bettered by anyone from either side.

Janko's nightmare

There cannot have been many worse individual displays in the Bundesliga this season than Janko's here. The 27-year-old gifted Muller the opener with a woeful backpass, before bringing down Gnabry to give referee Matthias Jollenbeck one of the easiest penalty decisions he will ever make.

What's next?

Bayern visit Paris Saint-Germain for the first leg of their mouth-watering Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, before a trip to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Saturday – the same day Bochum host Freiburg. 

Thomas Muller surpassed Gerd Muller as the outfield player with the most Bundesliga appearances for Bayern Munich after being named in the starting XI for the German champions' meeting with Bochum.

Muller's 428th league outing for Bayern takes him beyond his legendary namesake's tally of 427, with just two goalkeepers now standing between him and the outright club record.

Three-time European Cup winner Sepp Maier leads the way with 473 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern, while former captain-turned-chief executive Oliver Kahn played 429 times.

Muller was selected to make his 13th league appearance of an injury-hit season against Bochum, though he has still recorded seven goal involvements this term (three goals, four assists).

The 33-year-old's 140 Bundesliga goals put him fourth in Bayern's all-time goalscoring charts in the competition, behind Gerd Muller (365), Robert Lewandowski (238) and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (162).

Muller penned a contract extension with Bayern after helping them win a 10th consecutive league title last May, ensuring he will remain at the club until 2024.

Having made his league debut with the Bavarian giants in 2008, Muller has won 31 club trophies, including 11 Bundesliga titles and two Champions Leagues.

Thomas Muller might not be as crucial to Bayern Munich as he once was.

Indeed, he has featured only 12 times in the Bundesliga this season, making just nine starts.

Yet his next appearance, set to come against Bochum on Saturday, will see him overtake his namesake – the late, great Gerd Muller – for the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club by an outfield player, with 428.

Ahead of breaking the record, he has started 371 of his 427 Bundesliga matches, tasting victory on 307 occasions and losing only 47 times. He has won 11 titles and has a 12th in his sights this year.

Since making his Bundesliga bow in 2008, Muller has played more times in the competition than any other player, while he has directly contributed to 296 goals (140 goals, 156 assists), 23 more than second-ranked Robert Lewandowski (238 goals, 35 assists).

Lewandowski and Muller formed a formidable duo at Bayern, though the latter has not always had an easy ride at the club.

To celebrate his impending achievement, Stats Perform takes a look at Muller's Bayern journey, one which has also included two Champions League triumphs.

Tipped for the top? Not so much

"Thomas Muller can't beat you with his close ball control. He can't beat you with his pace. And he can't beat you with his dribbling skills. He just beats you."

Those were the words of German sports journalist and author Uli Hesse when he described Muller in an article originally published in Eight By Eight magazine and then re-published by The Guardian.

Muller has never had the blinding pace of peak Cristiano Ronaldo; the imperious skill of Lionel Messi or the exquisite finishing prowess of Lewandowski. Perhaps that is why he is never really considered among the pantheon of modern-day greats?

But in fairness, that was never truly expected of him. Indeed, a year before he shot to stardom at the 2010 World Cup, Muller had made just five senior appearances, totalling 40 minutes, scoring once.

Yet in 2009, when it seemed as though Muller – not quite a number 10, not quite a striker – would be loaned out, Louis van Gaal installed him as a first-team regular. He featured in every Bundesliga game that season, scoring 13 times and providing six assists. "In my team, Muller always plays," said Van Gaal.

Muller carried that form into the World Cup, finishing the tournament as one of four top scorers with five goals as a young, exciting Germany side reached the semi-finals. 

The 4-2-3-1 in which Muller had thrived at Bayern, where he was flanked by Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, was in vogue in South Africa, and along with Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski, he excelled behind club-mate Miroslav Klose.

Muller played every league game in the following two seasons, scoring 19 times, laying on a further 18 goals and creating 118 chances. He earned the nickname "Raumdeuter" – "an interpreter of space".

Even still, Muller was not the star of that Bayern side. Those were on the flanks, in the form of Robben and Ribery, and then up front when Lewandowski joined, yet over the next three seasons he put up brilliant numbers, hitting 20+ combined goals and assists in each campaign through to 2015-16.

As part of that span, he helped Bayern to Champions League glory in 2013, beating Lewandowski and Dortmund in the final at Wembley.

Hard times hit

Pep Guardiola had certainly got the best out of Muller, who netted 20 Bundesliga goals in the Spaniard's final season in Munich. Yet under Carlo Ancelotti, he failed to spark, at least in front of goal. 

Muller went 999 minutes without a Bundesliga goal and only scored five times in the top tier in Ancelotti's sole full season at Bayern (2016-17), underperforming his expected goals (xG) of 7.8. He finished the season with 12 league assists, however – a career-best at that stage.

If that hinted at what was to come from Muller Mk.II (more on that to come), there was no doubting "Raumdeuter's" shine had worn off slightly, with Thiago Alcantara often preferred in an advanced midfield role.

Muller defended Ancelotti when the Italian was dismissed in September 2017, though it was reported he was one of five senior players to demand a change in coach.

Jupp Heynckes took charge and Muller finished the campaign with 22 goal involvements, only two less than in the 2012-13 season in which Heynckes guided Bayern to the treble.

But matters did not improve in the 2018-19 season, in which Muller was deemed surplus to requirements by Germany coach Joachim Low and he struggled for his best form at club level under Niko Kovac.

Muller's time comes again

A second coming arrived in the pandemic-hit 2019-20 campaign; Kovac was sacked, Hansi Flick took over, and Muller was back at his best, relishing a second Champions League triumph, as Paris Saint-Germain were beaten in the final.

Yes, the goal tallies weren't as high as in his early 2010s peak, but in the three seasons between 2019-20 and 2021-22, Muller provided 57 assists in the league.

His accumulative expected assists (xA) stood at 38, suggesting he benefitted from the expert finishing of Lewandowski and Co., but he engineered 261 chances across 97 appearances (2.7 per game). Not bad.

The "Raumdeuter" was back. Whether playing behind Lewandowski, or on the right-hand side of Bayern's four-man attacking unit, he caused constant havoc, while in the 2020-21 season he also boasted his best shot conversion rate (21.6).

This season has not gone as smoothly as Muller would have hoped. Lewandowski's departure to Barcelona deprived him of his partner in crime, and Julian Nagelsmann has often gone with Jamal Musiala, Germany's next big hope, as a number 10.

Injuries haven't helped either and Muller endured a difficult campaign as Germany crashed out of the World Cup. 

Will there be a third coming? Maybe not. Perhaps this is the beginning of the end. But ahead of his record-breaking appearance, there's no doubt "Raumdeuter" has to go down as one of Bayern's greatest.

Julian Nagelsmann is backing Manuel Neuer to get back to his "outstanding" best as the Bayern Munich coach looks to move on from the recent controversy surrounding the goalkeeper.

Neuer attracted criticism from the club's hierarchy following an interview with The Athletic, in which he said the dismissal of close friend and goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic was "a blow – when I was already down on the ground".

Bayern captain Neuer is out for the season after breaking his leg during a skiing trip shortly after the World Cup, and his comments led to speculation regarding his future. 

Germany great Lothar Matthaus called for Neuer to be stripped of the captaincy, while some have suggested January arrival Yann Sommer may replace him as Bayern's first-choice goalkeeper.

Nagelsmann, however, considers the matter closed and is focused on helping Neuer in his recovery.

"Everything I discuss with players stays internal. Manu's job is to get fit again. My job is to support him," he said at a press conference to preview Saturday's meeting with Bochum.

"I ask you to let it rest. It's important that the topic is buried soon. Everyone knows that healing the body is also closely related to the thoughts in your head. 

"Manu is currently the captain of this team, you will see everything else. I am certain that Manu will be an outstanding goalkeeper again."

Bayern are looking to extend a 12-game unbeaten run in the Bundesliga when they face Bochum, having inflicted two 7-0 routs on the strugglers in the teams' last three meetings.  

The German champions then take on Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, but Nagelsmann is taking things one game at a time. 

"We have to get the game against Paris out of our heads because we have to keep our rhythm," he said. 

"We haven't had that much flow in the last few weeks. Everything we do on Saturday can also have an impact on Tuesday's game."

PSG have claimed Kylian Mbappe is likely to miss the teams' first meeting after suffering a hamstring injury, while fellow attacking star Lionel Messi will sit out their Ligue 1 trip to Monaco on Saturday with a similar problem.  

Nagelsmann accused PSG of "playing poker" regarding Mbappe's availability last week, and the Bayern boss defended those comments on Friday. 

"Paris are better with those two [Mbappe and Messi] than without. It's the same with us when two top players are out," he said.

"I've read a lot about my attack, which wasn't one. If a player is 'out' and then he plays, everyone says: 'What kind of idiot is Nagelsmann? He let himself be blinded'.

"My answer was just that I prepare like Mbappe is going to play, the same goes for Messi, I prepare the team as if they will both play, because they have other good players who can fill that position."

Julian Nagelsmann insisted it is not time to decide whether Manuel Neuer will continue as Bayern Munich captain.

Neuer is out of action for the remainder of the season after breaking his leg in a freak skiing accident, though has not managed to steer clear of controversy.

The Germany international criticised the club's decision to fire goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic in an interview with The Athletic, saying he felt like his heart was "ripped out" and described it as the "most brutal thing" in his career.

Those comments have attracted vast criticism, including from Nagelsmann, Bayern director Hasan Salihamidzic and Lothar Matthaus, the latter believing Neuer should be stripped of the captaincy.

However, Nagelsmann believes now is not the time for such discussions.

"I know that this is a very burning question that is being asked because the interview came out. But it's not a question I want to answer now," he told Bild.

"I now have to answer the question of who will be captain on the field for the next five months – whether it's Thomas [Muller], Joshua [Kimmich] or another player.

"Manuel's task is to get fit and healthy, that's what we're waiting for. And then we'll see. In general, I have the task of finding the right first eleven – and accordingly the captain of the next few weeks."

A 4-2 victory at Wolfsburg's Volkswagen Arena on Sunday brought an end to a three-game winless streak for defending champions Bayern.

It was not plain sailing for Bayern, who lost Kimmich to a red card in the second half, but Nagelsmann lauded a valuable result after their first league victory of 2023.

"The win was very important. We scored three goals from the first three chances, which made it easier for us," he added.

"We were too relaxed after the 3-0 and allowed Wolfsburg back into the game. Jamal's [Musiala] goal was crucial. We take the three points and move forward."