Musiala stars as Bayern pulls further ahead
Jamal Musiala came off the bench to score twice as Bundesliga leader defeated visitor Heidenheim 4-2 to maintain its unbeaten start to the campaign.
Vincent Kompany's side, which suffered a 1-0 DFB-Pokal defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in midweek, was without the injured Harry Kane, Manuel Neuer and Serge Gnabry for the home contest.
The Bavarian side got off to a good start when an unmarked Dayot Upamecano headed in the opener in the 19th minute.
But Upamecano's defensive error five minutes into the second half allowed Mathias Honsak to latch on to his poor back pass and fire past Daniel Peretz to make it 1-1.
However, Musiala, introduced straight after that goal, took just five minutes to make an impact as the 21-year-old's low drive from the edge of the box restored Bayern's lead.
Another Bayern substitute, Leon Goretzka, then added a third with a deflected shot in the 84th minute before Heidenheim pulled a goal back through a Niclas Doresch tap-in.
Musiala then settled the nerves for the hosts as he ran on to a through ball from his own half before scoring in stoppage-time to make it 4-2 with his eighth league goal of the season.
The result sees Bayern extend its lead at the top to six points over second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, while Heidenheim remains in 16th place.
Musiala's 11th Bundesliga appearance of the season was his first as a non-starter.
However, he said the breather was welcome and made him feel rejuvenated upon entering the contest, before taking his goal tally for the campaign to 12 in all competitions.
"Recently, I've played a lot of games in a row," he said. "That's why it was good that I got a break and came back energised.
"I've finally scored here in the [Allianz] Arena again. It feels good to celebrate with the fans."
Kompany was pleased by the response of his players after the midweek cup defeat.
"We started this week with a tough schedule, played 70 minutes with 10 players against Leverkusen, so it was always a dangerous game for many reasons," he said.
"The first half was very good, possession was fluid. The second half – although we stayed calm when we conceded – the last 15 to 20 minutes, the feeling for Heidenheim is totally justified that they are still in the game.
"Still, we created a lot of chances. It was a tough week. We scored four goals. It was still a very, very good day."
