FC Bayern celebrates a comeback win against Copenhagen, Jamal Musiala plays a decisive role with his goal. He almost lost his chance to score an equalizer.
Sometimes you also need a little bit of douche. Thomas Tuchel must have thought that in the 67th minute of his FC Bayern's Champions League game at FC Copenhagen.
Just at that moment, Jamal Musiala made it 1-1 for Munich with a great individual effort and thus set the course for the record champions' 2-1 victory . The lucky circumstance? Actually, Musiala shouldn't have been on the pitch at all.
Because Tuchel had already planned a three-man change. Thomas Müller, Mathys Tel and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting were ready to come on, and Musiala, among others, should actually have left the pitch.
The equalizer threw Tuchel's attack plan overboard. He had to convince his players that he would wait a few minutes before substitution. “Otherwise the change would have been more offensive, we would have played 4-1-4-1,” said Tuchel, explaining his plan to substitute Choupo-Moting for Konrad Laimer in the attacking eight.
Müller also had to laugh at the strange circumstance. “Then the coach wanted to wait a little longer because of how the game was going. We got in there a little later. But with a roar,” said the 34-year-old.
Müller immediately up to temperature
Ten minutes after the 1-1 score, Tuchel made the originally planned change - with one change. Instead of Choupo-Moting he brought Leon Goretzka.
What Müller meant by “roar”? The veteran was immediately up to speed and took the first shot shortly after being substituted on. In the 83rd minute, six minutes after being substituted, Müller received a through ball, prevailed robustly against the defender despite a lack of speed in the penalty area and set Mathys Tel in the spotlight with a clever cross pass. The 18-year-old Frenchman slotted in coolly and secured victory.
And Choupo Moting? He was then allowed to enter the field in the 87th minute - and almost turned into an unlucky raven in the 5th minute of stoppage time when the ball bounced off his shin and flew towards his own goal. But keeper Sven Ulreich saved his team's victory with an incredible save.
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And apparently the referees were also not uninvolved in the happy coincidence. “Luckily the linesman missed the situation to allow us to come on. I think the ball was out of bounds once and he was too slow with the substitution board and Jamal promptly made it 1-1,” Müller described after the game on Amazon Prime Video .