Bayern Boss Jupp Heynckes Praises the Return of the Thomas Muller of Old in Victory Over Celtic
Bayern Munich caretaker manager Jupp Heynckes said he saw the return of the Thomas Muller of old during his impressive performance in the club's 3-0 Champions League victory over Celtic on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old struggled under the tutelage of Carlo Ancelotti as he scored just nine goals last season, despite coming off the back of a 30 goal campaign in 2015/16, however Heynckes is confident his skipper is setting the tone for the weeks to come.
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As Bayern's previous clash in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain resulted in the sacking of Ancelotti, Heynckes took charge of the Bavarian giants in Europe for the first time since lifting the trophy in 2013.
Müller's opening goal in the 17th minute sent Bayern on their way to a convincing win over the Scottish champions and after the match Heynckes said, via ESPN: "Thomas played relatively well on Saturday, but tonight I thought he had a very good game - not only because of his goal.
"He was everywhere tonight, working hard to track back and plug gaps. To a large extent, I saw the Thomas Muller that I know.
"It's imperative that the established players set the tone. He's the captain and it's very pleasing."
Müller's international teammates Joshua Kimmich and Mats Hummels also found themselves on the scoresheet as Bayern notched their 11th consecutive home victory in the group stages of the competition.
However, despite the positive result Heynckes insisted his side still have a lot of improvements to make, he added:
"The team played well for long periods but we didn't convert many of our chances and also we allowed too many opportunities defensively too. We were careless. We will have to speak about this and it is something we have to eradicate.
"We have to be alert and concentrate from the first minute to the last. Sven Ulreich has again had to pull off many fine saves. And this simply shouldn't be happening to a team like us."
