Kim Min-jae Also Scored

Kim Min-jae, who played the worst match against Heidenheim, achieved the lowest rating of 6 points "all kill" from the German media.

Munich was defeated 2-3 in an away match against Heidenheim in the 28th round of the 2023-2024 German Bundesliga at Foyt Arena in Heidenheim, Germany, on the 6th, despite consecutive first-half goals by main gun Harry Kane and second-line striker Serge Gnabry.

Kim Min-jae's poor performance was the main cause. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was the worst game since joining Munich.

Kim Min-jae, who had recently been on the bench after being pushed to three options since Eric Dier joined the winter transfer market, started in five games, but was involved in all three of Munich's runs and was taken as the cause of a 2-3 loss.

In the early part of the first half, Kim easily demonstrated his competitiveness by blocking the home team's counterattack by using his fast speed and hand-to-hand defense of the opponent team's shot. Munich also took the lead by 2-0 thanks to back-to-back goals by Harry Kane and Serge Gnabry.

However, the nightmare began after that. During the opponent team's long kick in the fifth minute of the second half, the defense had an aerial challenge with home team striker Clyndinst, but failed to handle the challenge properly and the ball landed right in front of the Munich penalty area. Pierlinger caught it and made a killer pass, and Sessa shook the net.

A minute later, Jan Niklas Veste of the home team crossed from the left side to complete the equalizer with a right-footed volley shot by Klyndeenst. Kim Min-jae completely missed Klyndeenst penetrating behind him. He couldn't control Klyndeenst moving toward the falling point at all.

In the 36th minute of the second half, a complete error occurred. When Peeringer broke through the right side, he tried to cover up even though two fellow defenders were attached, but failed to properly prevent Kleindist from penetrating. In the end, he gave Kleindist another chance to open, providing an excuse for the loss.

Munich, which had a two-goal lead due to Kim Min-jae's error-prone play in succession, was quickly beaten by three goals and lost.

Local media evaluations also revealed that Kim Min-jae's performance was poor. Kim Min-jae received the lowest rating of six points from all media, including Bild and Kicker.

First of all, Germany's Bild gave Kim six points, the worst rating ever. Of the 22 players from the two teams that played on the field on the day, only Kim Min-jae was given six points. Considering that Germany ranks Kim from one to six points and that the lower the number, the Bild judges Kim as the main culprit behind the upset loss in Munich.

The lowest rating relay continued.

German media TZ also rated Kim Min-jae as 6, saying, "I'm not loved in 2024, but I had a good chance given by Thomas Tuchel ahead of the Arsenal match."

"Heidenheim was able to secure safety during the build-up process because it was harmless for a long time, but sometimes the ball bounced off and Kim Min-jae's expression was not good when he gave up two goals," he said. "What I remember is that I lost the aerial ball contest and gave way too much space to Kleindinst and Feieringer."

The German kicker started to doubt Kim's qualifications at all. "The central defense was poor. I now question whether Kim lacks confidence or the required class. Upamecano and Kim have long been Tuchel's preferred center-back duo, but they have shown once again why they are no longer playing that role in this match," he said.

"It is not new for Upamecano to make mistakes. Upamecano made a mistake even when he allowed the first run in the match against Heidenheim. Kim Min-jae made a mistake in the 2-2 situation, and missed Clyndinst, providing an excuse for the loss," he said, pointing to the two players.

In the meantime, he gave Kim six points. Alfonso Davis and Jojua Kimmich scored 4.5 points, while center-back partner Dayo Upamecano scored 5.5 points.

Tuchel was devastated, too. "We were extremely careless in our duel to win the second half, and we were too weak in our physical fight," he told a news conference after the match. Notably, he strongly criticized Kim Min-jae for allowing the second run, saying, "This situation should not happen at this level."

For Kim Min-jae, this game was a golden opportunity to claim Tuchel's starting qualifications.

Recently, the Munich center-backs` association consisted of Matthijs Diricht and Eric Dier. Then, when the time came for rotation ahead of the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals against Arsenal in mid-week, Tuchel fiddled with Kim Min-jae`s Upamecano card for the first time in a long time.

Prior to the match against Heidenheim, Tuchel said, "The way we played and the result brought about a change in our defense. We haven't decided on the next match yet, but we have been very pleased with Matthijs Diricht's performance in recent weeks. Diricht also played well in the last match," adding, "Kim Min-jae and Dayo Upamecano also played well. We have four great center backs, and everyone wants to play. We will decide who will play in each match," adding, "There could be a change against Heidenheim."

If Kim starts, he will return to the starting lineup for the first time in five matches. Kim's last start was in an away match against Freiburg in the 24th round 2-2 draw last month.

Kim Min-jae missed the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 match against Lazio, and played 15 minutes in the match against Mainz as a substitute in the second half. He was absent from the matches against Darmstadt and Dortmund. Meanwhile, his position in the team has rapidly narrowed, and rumors of a move have been circulating with several teams including Manchester United and Inter Milan.

Kim Min-jae, who finally got a chance to start against Heidenheim, needed to stamp Tuchel firmly. He had to prove that there was no reason to lose to Dier. 토토사이트

However, he showed disappointment in overall play, including location selection, timing of competition, and judgment against Heidenheim, and eventually received unanimous rejection points from local media in Germany.