bundesliga

Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala face off in Bayern Munich-Bayer Leverkusen Champions League showdown

11.02.2025

Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich are set to clash once again as they meet for the fourth time this season, in the UEFA Champions League. An attacking masterclass awaits for those who tune in, with Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala ready to wow a world audience with their game-changing expertise.

Combining as teammates to incredible effect on the international scene with Germany, the dynamic duo will be on opposing sides in Munich on Wednesday in a fixture that is crucial in both side's European campaigns.

Having drawn 0-0 in Leverkusen on Matchday 22 in a game that had been billed as a must-win for Xabi Alonso's men with regards to their Bundesliga title hopes, Bayer 04 have another chance to get one up on rivals Bayern, after being drawn to face the record champions in an all-German instalment of the UEFA Champions League round of 16. With Die Werkself hopeful of reaching the latter stages of the tournament, the responsibility on local favourite Wirtz’s shoulders increases, but the Cologne native knows that in Musiala, the Bavarian giants also have a player who can be the difference-maker in any contest.

Watch: Wirtz vs. Musiala - it's on!

Their paths to the top of the sport may differ, but Wirtz and Musiala match in so many ways. Both born in 2003, the pair were once their current teams’ youngest-ever Bundesliga goalscorers. Indeed, Wirtz’s first-ever German top-flight goal came against Bayern as a 17-year-old in June 2020, the same month Musiala made his senior debut for the record champions.

As the years have passed, the two have become ever-more vital to their clubs, to the point that they might now be the first names on their respective coaches’ team-sheets.

“When you see him every day, you realise why the boy is so good: huge professional, super mentality,” Leverkusen’s highly experienced midfield leader Granit Xhaka recently said of Wirtz, in quotes appearing in Bundesliga Magazine.

Between them, Germany teammates Musiala and Wirtz (l-r.) have amassed 67 international caps. - IMAGO/Moritz Mueller

The numbers back up Xhaka’s words. The Bundesliga player with the highest number of crosses that have led directly to a goal (five), the tireless attacker has also had more shots than any other Leverkusen player (62), boasts the league’s third-most sprints (673) and the most duels won (320), while he is also among the top 10 Bundesliga players for creating optimal scoring opportunities. In short, Wirtz is everywhere.

That paths will cross with Musiala on the Allianz Arena pitch on Wednesday is inevitable, and what a prospect that provides. Bayern bring an abundance of class, power and unmissable entertainment to almost every game, yet it is their Stuttgart-born schemer Musiala to whom eyes are inevitably drawn whenever Vincent Kompany’s side mount an attack.

If Wirtz is among the best of the Bundesliga’s creators, Musiala ranks high in the league’s top ‘finisher’ section – a category that combines goal threat with efficiency. With 11 goals this season, Bayern’s No. 42 is just one shy of his season best, achieved in that memorable 2022/23 title-winning campaign when his goal in Cologne brought the men in red one more Meisterschale – and Musiala his fourth.

Watch: Julian Nagelsmann on "outstanding" Musiala and Wirtz

Year on year, the former Chelsea youth is adding to his game and an unstoppable desire to be the best at his craft is helping to drive both personal and team goals. “My expectations of myself are always high; I’ve become more confident over time and back myself to push my teammates and carry them along,” Musiala said last year.

He may not be able to match Wirtz in terms of assists this season (Musiala has two as of Matchday 23), but the menacing attacker has added an aerial aspect to his game that has resulted in a player with an added all-round ability. Weighing in with four headed goals for club and country has brought plenty of cheer to Bayern and Germany fans and highlights Musiala’s eagerness to improve in all areas.

“I can and want to be a leader who leads by example with performances and so pushes his teammates,” he said in 2023. In a testament to that, Musiala’s 56 shots on goal this season falls only behind teammate Harry Kane’s total, while the 22-year-old has developed an xGoals value of 9.88.

Musiala (r.) is giving teammate Harry Kane (l.) a run for his money in terms of goal contributions at Bayern. - Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images

The youngest Bayern player to rack up 100 Bundesliga appearances (he now has 134) the Bavarians’ attacker has also shown a fearlessness when trying to stop opponents this term and has averaged more tackles (26 per 90 minutes) than any other player in Kompany’s squad.

Only the likes of Gerd Müller, Uli Hoeneß and Erling Haaland – among a few others – previously managed the 44 career Bundesliga goals that Musiala has amassed at a younger age than the current superstar, but the two-time Germany national Player of the Year is proving with each passing week that his name is worthy of mention among the greatest the game has produced, much like Wirtz.

When the two face off in one of the biggest games on the European stage on Wednesday, it will be a case of sitting back and soaking up a footballing work of art.