MUNICH: Thomas Muller became Bayern Munich’s record appearance holder when he came off the bench to score in their win over Freiburg on Sunday, and there is still more to come from the 34-year-old, manager Vincent Kompany said.

Mueller, in his 710th match for Bayern, came off the bench in the 59th minute with the hosts leading 1-0 thanks to a first-half penalty from Harry Kane after a VAR review showed the ball hit the arm of an unsighted Freiburg captain Christian Guenter.

With 12 minutes remaining, Mueller collected a Serge Gnabry pass on the turn and blasted in, the ball skipping off the ground and past Freiburg goalkeeper Florian Mueller and his 150th Bundesliga goal sealed a 2-0 victory.

Mueller moved past former goalkeeper Sepp Maier to outright first on the appearance list in all competitions.

In a strange twist of fate, back in 2008 Kompany was making his last club appearance as a player in Germany in the very game where Muller made his debut, before Bayern’s current manager left Hamburg SV to join Manchester City.

“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.”

The victory marked Kompany’s first win at home, with Bayern having won 3-2 at VfL Wolfsburg in their Bundesliga opener last weekend.

The record German champions, who were upstaged last season by Bayer Leverkusen, appointed former Burnley manager Kompany to succeed Thomas Tuchel after their disappointing third-place finish last campaign.

HEIDENHEIM GO TOP

Teenage Bayern loanee Paul Wanner scored a penalty and set up a goal as Heidenheim thrashed Augsburg 4-0.

The 18-year-old forward, who has three goals in three games in all competitions this season, stepped up to score a penalty after nine minutes.

Wanner created a goal for Adrian Beck, while Leo Scienza and Maximilian Breunig also got on the scoresheet in the dominant home win.

The victory sent Heidenheim, who won their opener at promoted St Pauli, to the top of the table at the end of the round for the first time in their history.

Heidenheim are ahead of RB Leipzig and Bayern on goal difference, making the trio the only clubs to have won their two opening fixtures.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2024