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There was a lot of time left for horse breeding.

Thomas Müller's hobby has long since become a second mainstay, the offensive star of FC Bayern runs the Gut Wettlkam stud with his wife Lisa, and in recent weeks Müller has spent more hours than usual reading specialist horse books.

He had to spend two weeks in Corona quarantine, soon the soccer world champion had enough and said with a wink: "I have to get out of the stable."

On Saturday he was finally allowed.

The 31-year-old had missed four games because of his infection, and against 1. FC Köln he was back in the squad for the first time after only two training sessions with the team.

Coach Hans-Dieter "Hansi" Flick replaced Müller in the 64th minute of play for top talent Jamal Musiala - and Müller prepared Robert Lewandowski's 3-1 with his first touch of the ball after just 32 seconds on the pitch.

In a phase when Cologne were close to equalizing.

Bayern won 5: 1 (2: 0), won the Bundesliga for the first time in around two weeks and remain leaders ahead of RB Leipzig.

“Successful working day”, summarized Müller on Instagram.

Already eleven templates this season

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Without him, the German record champions in the league had only got one point from two games.

It was a perfect weekend for the Müllers: Thomas once again showed how important he is for Bayern.

It was his eleventh template, no player in the league has prepared more goals so far.

And his Lisa was successful at a horse show in Austria.

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"Thomas brought calm, that was important for us at the moment," said Flick.

His changes paid off that afternoon: Serge Gnabry, who last had to pause due to a hamstring, had also brought the coach into the game about half an hour before the final whistle, the national player scored twice (82nd / 86th) and for the first time this season as a wild card.

"If you have the opportunity to change during the game - that's unique," said Cologne coach Markus Gisdol about the "felt 200 million" on the Munich bank.

In fact, Bayern's substitutes were worth 233.5 million euros in relation to the estimated market value on Saturday.

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“It was a bit boring at home.

Now it was fun again, ”said Gnabry of his return from the injury.

“When Thomas and I got in, it was a bit tricky for us.

We tried to make a little wind.

Then we quickly made it 3-1.

After that it was easier for us again. ”In the future, one should no longer have“ these shaky phases ”in the game.

"Unfortunately, we lost our lead a bit in two games," emphasized Gnabry with a view to the 3: 3 against Arminia Bielefeld and the 1: 2 at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Substitute day: Thomas Müller and Serge Gnabry decided the game against Cologne

Source: dpa / David Hecker

“We now want to win every game again and become champions in the end.” And offensive professional Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, whose 1-0 goal was his first Bundesliga goal since 2016, stated: “We lose the ball too easily, then we run behind and that takes strength.

We give our opponents self-confidence. ”Bayern have already conceded 32 goals, as many as in the entire previous season.

Goretzka with three templates

On Saturday (6.30 p.m., Sky) they will receive Borussia Dortmund.

In time for the top game, their important axis is ready and rehearsed again: midfielder Leon Goretzka, who had recently also tested positive for the corona virus, prepared three goals against Cologne and, according to Flick, was the player of the day.

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With him, Müller and Gnabry around, striker Lewandowski is particularly dangerous, and he also scored twice against Cologne.

After 23 match days, the world footballer has already scored 28 goals - no player has ever succeeded in doing that.

To set Gerd Müller's record from the 1971/1972 season, he is still missing twelve hits.

With eleven outstanding games an ambitious but achievable goal.

Especially with Müller and Gnabry as templates.

"We are happy that both have found their way so well and we will see how they will integrate in the next few games," said Flick of the duo.

“Now we have a week to bring them both closer together.” You certainly cannot ignore the defensive negligence.

"But it is important that you are satisfied sometimes."