Lee Jae-sung strikes twice to lead Mainz to big 4-0 win over Darmstadt

Football

Published: 07 Apr. 2024, 10:15 Updated: 07 Apr. 2024, 11:23

Lee Jae-sung strikes twice to lead Mainz to big 4-0 win over Darmstadt

Mainz's Lee Jae-sung celebrates with teammate Silvan Widmer during a Bundesliga match in Mainz, Germany on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Lee Jae-sung scored two goals and picked up an assist in a 4-0 win over Darmstadt on Saturday, keeping Mainz a point clear of the relegation zone with six games left to play in the Bundesliga season.

Lee was directly involved in the action from the off at Mewa Arena in Mainz, Germany, assisting Andreas Hanche-Olsen for the first goal in the 32nd minute and then adding two of his own in the 80th and 84th minutes.

While the assist and the first goal were scrappy, Lee’s final goal capped off a big night for the veteran Korean midfielder in style. Picking up the ball at the top of the box, Lee fired it into the top right corner to give Mainz an indisputable 4-0 win.

Lee earned man of the match honors for his performance and was by far the highest-rated player of the game, with statistics aggregator Whoscored.com giving him an 8.8 rating, the only player on the pitch to break into the eights.

Mainz's Lee Jae-sung celebrates during a Bundesliga match in Mainz, Germany on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Saturday’s double takes Lee to four goals and four assists on the 2023-24 Bundesliga season, tying his personal best for assists in the Bundesliga but trailing three goals behind last season’s seven goals and four assists.

Lee still has time to get some more goals on the board, and his performance over the last few weeks suggest that he is in especially good form going into the final stretch.

Six of the eight goals Lee was directly involved in came during the last five games: An assist against Borussia Mönchengladbach on March 2, two against VfL Bochum on March 16 and two goals and an assist on Saturday.

Lee is a veteran midfielder with over 80 appearances for both Mainz and the Korean national team under his belt. His current contract with the Bundesliga club was set to end in June this year, but was extended through 2026 earlier in the season.

Lee was not the only Korean player in action on Saturday, with Jeong Woo-yeong also making a brief appearance off the bench in VfB Stuttgart’s 1-0 win over Dortmund.

Down in the south of the country, Kim Min-jae, often relegated to the bench in recent games, made a rare start in Bayern Munich’s 3-2 loss to Heidenheim. Kim, who made some mistakes that led to the shock loss, likely got the start because manager Thomas Tuchel wanted to rest some players ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League quarterfinal clash with Arsenal.

Back in Mainz, the win keeps the Rhineland side one point clear of the automatic relegation zone with six games left to play. Mainz currently sit in 16th, which would still force them to play a relegation playoff, with 23 points, narrowly edging out Koln on 22 points in 19th place. Darmstadt trail with just 14 points.

Mainz will be back in action next Saturday as they take on Hoffenheim at home.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]