Bayern Munich suffered a disastrous loss to Frankfurt.

The Bavarians lost 1-4 to Eintracht Frankfurt in the 14th round of the 2023-24 German Bundesliga at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany, at 11:30 p.m. ET on Sept. 9. With their unbeaten streak over, Munich are in second place with 32 points (10 W, 2 D, 1 L, 44 P, 14 G, +30), while Frankfurt are in seventh place with 21 points (5 W, 6 D, 3 L, 24 P, 16 G, +8).

Points] 'Heavy snow break' gives Munich a chance to reclaim lead, Kim Min-jae makes first start in a while

There is a 'peculiar' team that is still unbeaten in Europe's top five leagues since the start of the season. They are mega-club Munich and dark horse Leverkusen. Thomas Tuchel's Munich and Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen are locked in a fierce battle at the top of the table.

On February 2, Munich was scheduled to face Union Berlin at home. However, the game was postponed due to sudden heavy snowfall. With transportation paralyzed, it was a necessary evil. The natural disaster gave Munich a much-needed break from the league and the UEFA Champions League (UCL). It also gave Kim Min-jae a much-needed break from the rigors of the season.

He missed the last match against Copenhagen, which was somewhat expected, as it was reported that he missed the training session ahead of the match. According to Germany's RAN, "Kim Min-jae and Nusair Mazrawi missed the last training session against Copenhagen. In their absence, Leon Goretzka will be used as a central defender." "Thomas Tuchel has the opportunity to rest some of his key players in terms of rotation," said Bavarian Football. According to Bild, Kim Min-jae was excluded from training and is doubtful to play," raising the possibility of a rest.

Injury aftermath. The injury occurred on March 25 against Cologne in the 12th round of the German Bundesliga. In the 14th minute of the first half, Kim fell to the ground in the pelvic area while competing for an aerial ball. After being treated by the medical staff, he played the rest of the game, but is expected to miss the rest of the season due to the impact.

But the injury wasn't the end of the story. After joining Munich last summer, Kim was expected to face stiff competition from Upamecano and Mathias De Ligt. But when the lid was lifted, all fears were unfounded. While Der Licht and Upamecano were alternately injured, Kim was the only one on the field. As a result, Kim was facing a physical strain after playing "15 consecutive full-time games as a starter," Neuer said, referring to his 15 consecutive full-time games. "I don't know how much time difference there is between Korea and Germany. It's a great achievement that he played the full 90 minutes in Cologne today. It's important for some players to get some rest," he said.

Kim Min-jae needs to be taken care of. "When people talk about the second half of the season, the first thing that comes to mind is the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Nations Cup, but there is also the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. Munich will sorely miss key player Kim Min-jae. He hasn't taken a minute off since the third round of the German Bundesliga. While Upamecano and Der Licht have been out, Tuchel has always relied on him and praised him for stepping up to the plate, saying he is always involved in the center of play.

There was also some local controversy. Germany's Sport 1 said, "Kim Min-jae is protecting the defense, and sometimes he makes serious mistakes. Are we expecting too much from him? He has played 959 minutes out of 990 minutes in 11 Bundesliga games and all four UEFA Champions League games, and he can't even recover on match day. How long will this situation continue?" he said, referring to the abuse controversy.

"Kim Min-jae is nicknamed 'the monster'. It spread quickly after he won the Scudetto (Italian Serie A title) with Napoli last season. But the situation he faces in Munich represents a new challenge. He is the only one of the central defense trio who has been consistently fit. Matthias der Licht is out with a torn medial ligament in his right knee, while Dayo Upamecano has been dealing with a thigh injury until recently," he pointed out.

"Kim Min-jae is always playing. Because he has to. The only game he missed was against Prussia Münster in the DFB Pokal, where he was unable to recover from the fatigue that coach Thomas Tuchel deemed dangerous. Against Galatasaray in the UCL, he lost a sprint battle to Cedric Bakambu. Against Heilheim, he made a fatal pass. The situation facing Bayern is dangerous, but the question is whether there is an alternative in the face of a lack of options and a tight schedule. Kim Min-jae is also busy during the A-match period. South Korea takes on Singapore, then travels to Shenzhen to face China. A few hours later, on Friday evening, the team returns to Germany to face Cologne. All told, we've traveled 20,000 kilometers. At some point, even monsters get tired. Munich will have to carefully consider when to give him a break." Indeed, Kim has played a killer schedule for the national team. It's a good thing the Berlin game was postponed due to the heavy snowfall. With his stamina restored, Kim was back in the starting lineup.

[Starting lineup] 'Kim Min-jae back in the lineup' Munich's ultra-luxury squad to face Frankfurt

Dino Tottmöller's side lined up in a 3-4-2-1 formation with Omar Marmusi, Ansgar Knauf, and Mario Götze up front. The midfield featured Junior Dina Ebimbe, Fares Shaibi, Hugo Larsson, and Aurelio Bouta. The defense was made up of Willian Pacho, Robin Koch, and Tuta. Kevin Trapp was in goal.=== On the bench were Jens Granl, Hrvoje Smolcic, Jesik N'Gankam, Makoto Hasebe, Jens Peter Haugge, Nils Nkunku, Paxton Aaronson, Philipp Max and Elias Niklas Baum.

The visitors, coached by Thomas Tuchel, pulled out a 4-2-3-1 formation. Harry Kane, Leroy Sane, Eric Maxime Choupo-Moting, and Kingsley Coman made up the forward line. The midfield was led by Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich. The back four was made up of Alfonso Davies, Kim Min-Jae, Dayo Upamecano, and Nusair Mazrawi. Manuel Neuer wore the goalkeeping gloves.

On the bench were Sven Ulreich, Serge Gnabry, Raphael Guerreiro, Thomas Muller, Konrad Reimer, Mathis Tell, Frans Kracik, Jamal Musiala and Aleksandar Pavlovic.

[First half] 'Marmusi X Ebimbe X Larsson' goal for Frankfurt, 'Kimmich' goal for Munich

Mistakes were made in the Munich camp early on. In the first minute, a Davies touch mistake led to a Frankfurt counterattack. Knauf broke through and shot, but found the side netting.

After being outplayed by Frankfurt in the early stages of the match, Munich conceded a goal. The attack started with a Buta cross in the 12th minute. After Mazrawi missed, Shaibi shot but hit the crossbar. Marmusi calmly collected the second ball and fired a shot into the corner of the net.

Frankfurt continued to attack. In the 17th minute, a Coman pass was broken up under pressure. Marmusi broke through and Ebimbe had a shot blocked by the Upamecano physical defense. Then came the Munich counterattack. Coman got into the box and took a shot that sailed high into the air.

Munich would be disappointed. In the 24th minute, Kane received a penetrating pass after a Coman pass and a Gotzeka advance, but his shot went narrowly wide. In the 28th minute, a Kimmich pass on a free kick led to another Choupo-Moting shot, but this time it was stopped in front of Trapp.