Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel singled out one of his players for being “too greedy” during their Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
The 50-year-old, who has been strongly linked with the Manchester United job in recent days, criticised naive defending from his side during Tuesday night’s game.
Second-half goals from Leroy Sane and Harry Kane cancelled out Vinicius Junior’s opener but the Brazilian forward scored a late penalty to earn Madrid a 2-2 draw ahead of next week’s second-leg.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, a frustrated Tuchel said it was a “missed opportunity”.
He added: “We lost our rhythm and fluidity. I don’t know exactly why. They changed their shape and defending. Then we conceded and our self-confidence was gone. We played too slow.”
In a separate interview, Tuchel commented on the performance of South Korean centre-back Kim Min-jae, who replaced Matthijs de Ligtin the starting XI after he suffered a knee injury against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
The Bayern manager certainly made his feelings known.
“He [Min-jae] was too ‘greedy’ twice. He made the first move too early against Vinicius in the first goal and got caught by Toni Kroos’ pass. He speculated and was too aggressive,” Tuchel told reporters.
“In the second goal, unfortunately it was another mistake. We were five against two, we had the numbers. There was no need to defend that aggressively against Rodrygo.
“The moment Eric was about to help, he [Kim] brought him [Rodrygo] down. Unfortunately with their quality, these mistakes get punished. But well, it happens. We have to move on.”
"The mission is clear, the winner takes it all at Bernabéu"
Thomas Tuchel labels Bayern's first-leg draw as a 'missed opportunity.' ⚽️#UCL | 🎙️ @julesbreach pic.twitter.com/0lpenJXpps
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 30, 2024
Tuchel wasn’t the only person to criticise Min-jae’s performance against the Spanish side.
Steve McManaman, who was on commentary duty for TNT Sports, said the defender had a “night to forget” as Los Blancos secured a draw at the Allianz Arena.
After Kim conceded a penalty in the 83rd minute after bringing down Rodrygo, the former Real Madrid midfielder said: “Sloppy, so sloppy, you cannot touch him.”
He added: “That’s a penalty. What’s he playing at [Kim] making a challenge like that? It doesn’t matter what level you play at. Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes, will cost you dearly.”
McManaman didn’t stop there. Later on, he said: “Kim has had a night to forget at this level. Can he turn it on again next week at the Bernabeu?”
We’ll have to wait and see if Kim gets a call-up for Bayern ahead of their semi-final second against Madrid on Wednesday, May 8.