Bundesliga: Müller marks 400th game with goal and assist

Bayern Munich 4-0 Wolfsburg
(Müller 7', Upamecano 57', Sané 59', Lewandowski 87')
Allianz Arena, Munich

Comfortable home wins such as this are only so comfortable because Bayern Munich make them so. Or, more precisely, because Thomas Müller makes them so.

On his 400th Bundesliga appearance, the 32-year-old once again demonstrated both his goal-scoring instincts and his unrivalled creativity as Bayern ended 2021 as they started it: winning and on top.

Müller was in the right place at the right time after seven minutes to poke home the rebound after Serge Gnabry's shot had been saved.

And after halftime, he set up Dayot Upamecano for his first Bayern goal with a wonderful piece of footwork in a congested penalty area.

Leroy Sané and Robert Lewandowski completed the rout – the latter scoring his 43rd Bundesliga goal of this calendar year to break yet another Gerd Müller record – but it was the great man's modern namesake who had provided the breakthrough on a landmark occasion of his own.

Evergreen Müller

Thomas Müller made his Bundesliga debut on the opening day of the 2008-09 season, coming on as a substitute for Miroslav Klose 11 minutes from time in a 2-2 draw against Hamburg.

Thirteen years and 399 more Bundesliga games later, he's Bayern Munich's longest-serving current player, and as indispensable as ever.

"I've never been the most athletic player," he told the club website ahead of the Wolfsburg game. "I had to learn early on to find alternative routes to goal, for example with intelligence, cleverness, timing, linking up with teammates or reacting quicker."

All of those were on show in the buildup to the second goal. Receiving the ball from Sané inside a packed box, Müller somehow created space for himself with a perfect first touch with his left foot to control, before switching his balance and immediately moving the ball on to Upamecano with his right.

The 4-0 win over a desolate Wolfsburg – who have now lost all of the last seven games in all competitions, finishing bottom of their Champions League group and slipping to 12th in the Bundesliga – means that Bayern finish the first half of the season as deserved Herbstmeister, or autumn champions.

But while the leaves fall at this time of year, Thomas Müller remains evergreen.