Lee Jae-seong rated 7.6, Hwang Hee-chan "more involved in attack than Zeko"... Both players praised in 'Korean Derby', Mainz wins 1-0

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

In the 'Korean Derby' on the German Bundesliga stage, Lee Jae-seong (Mainz) and Hwang Hee-chan (Schalke 04) both showcased their presence.

Mainz secured a 1-0 victory in their away match against Schalke in Round 6 of the 2026-2027 German Bundesliga season, held at the Peltzer Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on the 17th (Korean time).

The winning goal came in the 24th minute of the first half. Philipp Tietz scored against Schalke's net following an assist from Anthony Caci. Mainz defended that single goal until the end to secure a valuable three points.

The head-to-head between the Korean players also drew attention.

Lee Jae-seong started in Mainz's 3-5-2 formation and played for 76 minutes. Hwang Hee-chan began the match on the bench. He was substituted in for Edin Zeko in the 15th minute of the second half, spending about 30 minutes on the pitch.

Lee Jae-seong was the one to show his presence first. Just one minute after the match started, he seized a decisive scoring opportunity. After Schalke goalkeeper Loris Karius blocked a shot by Seraldo Becker, Lee Jae-seong, positioned behind, attempted a follow-up shot. However, Karius dived again to make the save.

Lee Jae-seong was also at the origin of that sequence. His skillful pass served as the foundation for the attack, ultimately leading to his own shooting opportunity.

On this day, Lee Jae-seong moved actively in both offense and defense. He completed 26 out of 32 passes accurately, recording an 81% success rate. He also created one chance.

His defensive contributions were also notable. He recorded three tackles and successfully made one interception and one ball recovery each. In particular, he won eight out of nine ground duels, achieving a high success rate of 89%.

Lee Jae-seong was substituted for Paul Nebel in the 31st minute of the second half, ending his match.

Hwang Hee-chan brought a change to Schalke's attack in the second half. Schalke deployed 40-year-old veteran Zeko at the forefront but struggled to penetrate Mainz's defense. Eventually, Zeko was taken off and Hwang Hee-chan came on in the 15th minute of the second half.

Local German evaluations were also positive. German media outlet Ruhr24 gave Hwang Hee-chan a rating of 3.5, assessing that he "added speed to the attack after coming on for Zeko in the 15th minute of the second half."

The outlet further noted the impact of Hwang Hee-chan's substitution, stating that he "was immediately more involved in developing attacks than Zeko." In the German rating system, lower numbers indicate better performance.

This contrasted with the lowest rating of 6 given to Zeko, who started the match. The media harshly criticized Zeko, stating that "his very starting appearance was completely questionable" and that he "completely lost his presence in the game."

Hwang Hee-chan also had an opportunity to score an equalizer. In the 40th minute of the second half, he attempted a header shot from close range, but it went straight to Mainz goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow and did not result in a goal.

In his 30 minutes on the pitch, Hwang Hee-chan completed 7 out of 9 passes, recording a 78% success rate. He had 14 touches on the ball and controlled the ball twice inside the opponent's penalty box. He also recorded one shot on target.

However, that header opportunity was recorded as a decisive scoring chance, leaving him with one 'big chance missed.' Football statistics media FootMob gave Lee Jae-seong a rating of 7.6 and Hwang Hee-chan a rating of 6.1.

With this result, Mainz stands in 5th place in the league with three wins, one draw, and two losses (10 points), while Schalke is in 14th place with one win, two draws, and three losses (5 points).

Meanwhile, Ruhr24 gave Schalke goalkeeper Karius the highest rating of 1.

The outlet assessed that he "was already worthy of the highest rating after making consecutive saves against Seraldo Becker and Lee Jae-seong just one minute into the match."

It added, "In the goal conceded, there was nothing Karius could do."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original