Unlike Thomas Tuchel’s public criticism, Manuel Neuer (38) embraced his captain’s (Manuel Neuer, 38) costly mistake.
Bayern Munich drew 2-2 with Real Madrid in the first leg of their 2023-2024 UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarterfinal first leg at the Fusball-Arena Munich in Munich, Germany on Monday (Jan. 1).
After failing to win at home, Bayern Munich must win away to Real Madrid to reach the final. The two teams will meet in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on April 8.
Kim Min-jae started for UCL for the first time in a while. It was the first time since the first leg of the UCL Round of 16 against Lazio in February. He partnered Eric Dier, who was given the opportunity after Matthijs de Ligt’s knee injury and Dayo Upamecano’s ankle injury.
For Kim, it was a valuable opportunity to regain his place in the starting lineup. A good performance against Real Madrid, a team with several world-class players, could have won him back into coach Thomas Tuchel’s heart.
However, the result was a disaster.
Kim Min-jae was at fault twice in his first ever UCL semifinal. First, in the 24th minute, 안전놀이터 추천 he ran out after Vinicius Junior and found himself in space behind him. Tony Kroos slotted in a pinpoint pass and Vinicius found himself one-on-one for the opening goal.
Kim Min-jae was frustrated immediately after the goal, looking at right fullback Jozua Kimmich and shouting. It was an uncharacteristic display of anger after a promising play went awry.
After that, he settled down for a while. Kim Min-jae helped his team win a penalty corner with a precise forward pass, and he made his presence felt with his aggressive defense and quickness to clear the ball. In the second half, the team had some fun again, playing a run-and-gun defense.
The trouble came in the final minutes of the game. With Bayern Munich leading 2-1 in the 37th minute, Kim Min-jae conceded a penalty after tripping Hodriguez as he tried to stop him dribbling in the box. Vinicius calmly converted the penalty to tie the game at 2-2, and Bayern Munich had to swallow their disappointment as they were unable to hold on for the win.
Kim Min-jae couldn’t avoid criticism after the game.
This was understandable, as he made two mistakes that directly led to the goal. The German publication Bild called him a “disaster” and gave him a rating of 6, the lowest possible. In Germany, they usually rate players on a scale of 1 to 5, but when a player has a really bad game, they give them a 6.
Spox and Sport also gave Kim a 5.5 rating, while TZ gave her a 5. Spox said: “Kim came on for Der Licht again and made a strong tackle against Jude Bellingham. However, as has often been the case this season, there were moments of uncertainty.” “He made a terrible mistake by leaving Vinicius too much space. He repaid me with a great tackle shortly afterwards, but I conceded a penalty to make it 2-2. At this level, you can’t make mistakes like that,” he pointed out.
Steve McManaman, who played for Liverpool and Real Madrid, added: “Sloppy. Too sloppy. Kim Min-Jae can’t touch Hodriguez,” and “Lovely play by Vinicius. The penalty is right. What kind of play is Kim Min-jae doing to challenge like that?” and “What kind of play is he doing?
“It doesn’t matter what level you play at,” McManaman said. If you make mistakes, mistakes, mistakes, you’re going to pay a huge price. It was a lifeline that Real Madrid needed. Why did Kim decide to make that tackle? Dyer, the cleaner, was behind him,” said the coach. “Kim had a night to forget at this level. Will he be able to play again at the Bernabeu next week?”
Even Tuchel publicly criticized Kim.
“He shouldn’t be so aggressive on the counterattack. When the team has the ball, he can do that. But as a central defender, you can’t be so free to counterattack.” “He’s too greedy. It’s not a pressure situation, so you don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s too easy. There is no one who can help Kim Min-jae there.”
Tuchel also commented on the penalty conceded, saying, “Kim Min-jae was too greedy twice. We were outnumbered 5-2. Kim Min-jae suddenly and unnecessarily tried to block an inside warning from Hodriguez. He was in the wrong position when the pass came. Dyer was coming to help, but he committed a foul. He was too greedy. In that situation, you have to stand still,” he said.
Finally, Tuchel added: “Unfortunately, when you play a team of Real Madrid’s caliber, these mistakes lead to goals. But it has happened. We have to keep moving forward,” he added.
Of course, Kim made a critical mistake and deserved to be criticized, but it’s hard not to wonder if it would have been better for the manager to address it in the locker room rather than in public. Fans also commented, “Kim Min-jae didn’t have a good game, but it’s not right to criticize your players in public,” and “I understand Tuchel, but he shouldn’t talk badly about his players, especially not in public.”
Only captain Neuer had a different opinion of Tuchel.
“Kim Min-Jae tripped Hodriguez inside the penalty box,” he wrote in Sport 1. Bayern Munich missed a penalty and lost the game. Neuer protects Kim Min-jae,” and released a short Mixzone interview with Neuer.
“We talked about it in the locker room,” Neuer said when the subject of Kim Min-jae came up. 토토사이트 순위 Mistakes happen, it’s part of soccer. It doesn’t mean he’s going to be bad in the next game,” and encouraged him to do well in the next game.
He continued, “Kim Min-jae wasn’t completely bad today. He did some good things. But in some important moments, he probably didn’t make the right decisions. This can always happen in soccer,” he added, hugging Kim. Neuer showed the class of a captain.