Thomas Muller and Jadon Sancho: Function takes on flair when Bayern Munich meet Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker

The two leading goal suppliers in the Bundesliga go head-to-head on Tuesday night and their styles could not be more opposite

Thomas Muller scores Bayern Munich's second goal against Eintracht Frankfurt. AP

Thomas Muller controls the ball during Bayern Munich's game against Eintracht Frankfurt. EPA

Thomas Muller celebrates after scoring Bayern Munich's second goal. AP

Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller with Manuel Neuer after the win over Frankfurt. Reuters

Thomas Muller with Eintracht Frankfurt's Erik Durm after the match. Reuters

Jadon Sancho replaces Julian Brandt during Borussia Dortmund's game against Wolfsburg. PA Wire

Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland celebrate Dortmund's second goal scored by Achraf Hakimi. Reuters

Jadon Sancho chases the ball down during a game against Schalke. AFP

Jadon Sancho during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke. AP Photo

Jadon Sancho runs with the ball during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin. Getty Images

It is a battle for supremacy between the top two that will run to the final day of the season. Not Bayern Munich against Borussia Dortmund, though the Bundesliga may hope for the tightest of title races, but Thomas Muller versus Jadon Sancho in the duel of the goal-makers.

Each got an assist on Saturday, Muller cutting the ball back for Leon Goretzka and Sancho teeing up Achraf Hakimi. The Bayern veteran leads the way with 17 assists. The Dortmund youngster is his closest pursuer with 16. In this, as in much else, Dortmund are trying to overtake Bayern.

It could be seen as a contest of opposites. Sancho was 10 years old when Muller was joint top scorer in the 2010 World Cup. The German is certain to start. The Englishman, who has eased his way back to fitness with two cameos in the last 10 days, is not.

Muller is essentially the least glamorous of No 10s, a functional, efficient player who has transformed himself from scorer into supplier. Sancho is the ostensibly more exciting winger.

What is apparent is how each stands apart. Muller has become the first player to register 17 assists in a campaign in the top five European leagues since Kevin de Bruyne three years ago. Perhaps as remarkable is his return of 0.84 assists every 90 minutes on the pitch; even De Bruyne only averages 0.59 now. Muller averages 2.99 passes that lead to a shot every 90 minutes, according to Comparisonator stats, and 5.08 crosses; as an illustration, only De Bruyne and Adama Traore can top that in the Premier League.

Muller has done it his way, which is almost entirely without dribbling. He scarcely feels a flair player, but instead has used his preternatural understanding of space to become the reliable creator.

It has been a clever reinvention: now others in the same position shoot more often than a man with 250 career goals for club and country. It is a reason why a player who scored 32 times in 2015-16 has just 11 now, but he has set up six in the Bundesliga for Robert Lewandowski alone.

Sancho is a different type of provider but the consistency of his supply line is notable. While young wingers can be defined by dribbling without much of an end product, he is their antithesis. Others – Bayern’s Kingsley Coman and Bayer Leverkusen’s Karim Bellarabi in particular – run with the ball far more.

Sancho only ranks 18th among Bundesliga wingers for successful dribbles, but none can rival his return of 0.75 assists every 90 minutes on the pitch. It suggests he picks the right options, though the fact his nearest rival, on 0.52, is Thorgan Hazard, who could start instead of him on Tuesday night, shows manager Lucien Favre has enviable options. Tellingly, Sancho tops the charts for what are termed smart passes; his decision-making is intelligent.

With 14 league goals, Sancho has double Muller’s tally. He has been directly involved in 30 Bundesliga goals. To show how extraordinary that is, De Bruyne tops the Premier League list, with 24.

Transporting Sancho’s statistics to England is instructive: he is a runaway leader for assists, top for completed passes, second for key passes and third for goals per 90 minutes, behind only Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy.

The probable collapse of the transfer market makes it feel hypothetical. A few months ago, it seemed Sancho would head back to England for a fee in excess of £100 million (Dh447.4m).

His on-pitch statistics suggested he could have been the best all-round attacker in the division. Instead, his battle with Muller, the clash of the clinical creators, is one that could run again in Germany next season.