A report is marfūʿ because its content is attributed to the Prophet ﷺ, whether its chain is connected or interrupted. The technical definition of musnad additionally requires a Companion's attribution and a chain that appears continuous.
Case 1: A Successor says “The Messenger of Allah said” without naming a Companion. Its attribution is marfūʿ, but as a mursal report it is not musnad under this definition.
Case 2: Omitting several intermediaries may yield muʿḍal or muʿallaq forms. Naming the Prophet ﷺ alone does not remove such gaps.
Always separate the endpoint of attribution from the structure of the chain that purports to reach it.