Muller matches De Bruyne's Bundesliga assist mark as Sancho closes in on

Thomas Muller has equalled Kevin De Bruyne as the Bayern Munich continued to close in on the Belgian's record with an assist on Saturday against Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Bayern Munich star assisted Leon Goretzka's opener, which came in the 17th minute of the club's second Bundesliga match following the league's return from the suspension caused by the coronavirus.

Muller broke through on the left side before firing a cross into the centre of the box, where a trailing Goretzka was able to fire first-time to give the Bundesliga leaders the early advantage.

The assist was Muller's 17th of the season, putting the German level with De Bruyne in pursuit of the best-ever Bundesliga mark.

In addition to the 17 assists, Muller has fired six goals this season as he's featured in a deeper role for the defending Bundesliga champions.

The 17 assists sees Muller level with De Bruyne's total through 27 matches in the season where the Belgian shattered the league's record.

De Bruyne's record-breaking season came in 2014-15 during the midfielder's time with Wolfsburg when he provided 21 assists and also fired 10 league goals.

As a result, De Bruyne was recognised as the Bundesliga's Player of the Year that season, despite Wolfsburg finishing second in the league behind Bayern Munich.

That campaign ended up being his last before heading to Manchester City, where he's continued to establish himself as one of the game's premier passers of the ball.

He made his £58 million ($71m) move to the Premier League in August 2015, and he's gone on to provide 61 assists since, including 16 this season, while helping guide City to two Premier League titles. 

Muller isn't the only player within striking distance of setting a new league-best, with Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho also closing in.

The England winger was able to find Achraf Hakimi late in Dortmund's 2-0 win over Werder Bremen, notching his 16th assist of the campaign. 

With that assist, Sancho officially took over Dortmund's record, surpassing Henrikh Mkhitaryan's 15-assist haul back in 2015-16.

Bayern are set to face off with Dortmund on Tuesday with the two sides sitting in the top two spots in the league.