You can’t be surprised at the fired coach. Both of Kim’s misses shattered Bayern’s plans to pieces.
In the beginning of the semi-final duel, the Munich giant had the upper hand. With the support of the packed stands, he crushed the opponent, goalkeeper Andrij Lunin was constantly on duty. But then came the number one kick.
The fast-footed Vinícius Júnior ran to the middle, Kim followed him. The nimble Brazilian then turned the rudder in a flash and paddled towards Bayern’s goal. The Korean defender botched his evasive maneuver even with a winch. This was followed by a millimeter pass from Toni Kroos, a perfect finish and the leading goal for Real.
“I don’t understand why he climbed there. With how fast Vinícius is, there was no chance of catching him,” former league footballer Zdeněk Folprecht shook his head in the studio of the Premier Sport station. “He got dragged out unnecessarily. A tactical error,” added former great stopper Tomáš Ujfaluši.
“A central defender can’t do that. If someone covered his back, fine. But to come out so hastily,” Tuchel did not understand.
Bayern’s coach tried to resurrect the team at half-time by switching the wings. Rošáda came out on top with an asterisk. Leroy Sané broke into the middle from the right shortly after the break and equalized, Jamal Musiala from the left produced a penalty for Harry Kane moments later. The Bavarian team suddenly took the lead.
Just when it looked like they were on course for a valuable win from the first game, it was time for kick number two with ten minutes to go.
Kim hugged the attacking Rodrygo from behind like an old high school friend. Unfortunately, this does not fit in the own sixteen. And not at all in the Champions League. French referee Clément Turpin resolutely pointed to the spot, and Vinícius soon became one of the scorers for the second time. Even scores, 2:2.
“At the same time (Rodryga) first defended well, and then moved completely stupidly to the opposite side. It couldn’t have been done without a foul,” Folprecht surmised.
“That impetuousness again, he did it really stupidly. And at the moment when Eric Dier came to help him, he fouled even more,” said Tuchel.
To borrow tennis jargon, a double fault ruled. With which the coach of Bayern could unfortunately do little.
Kim played only fifteen minutes of the second leg in the successful quarter-final against Arsenal. Matthijs de Ligt featured in the stopper duo alongside Dier. But a recent knee injury prevented him from entering the semi-final prologue.
Another hitchhiker on the waiting list? Dayot Upamecano. The giant Frenchman was on the bench but recovering from a health problem. And on top of that, he also occasionally cuts some hair. After all, he was able to get a red card in two consecutive matches in February. One in the Champions League against Lazio, the other in the Bundesliga against Bochum. Bayern lost both duels.
So the bet on Kim was a logical outcome. Unfortunately for Bayern, but also slightly tragic.
