Kim Min-jae (27, Bayern Munich) was named “der kaiser” once again for his iron-walled defense.
The Bavarians defeated Manchester United 4-3 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League (UCL) Group A match of the 2023-2024 season at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, at 4:00 a.m. ET today.
With the win, Munich moved to the top of the group with three points from their first match. In the other Group A match earlier in the day, Copenhagen and Galatasaray drew 2-2 to share a point.
It was a back-and-forth affair. Munich went into halftime with a 2-0 lead after Leroy Sane opened the scoring in the 27th minute and Serge Gnabry added a second in the 32nd. United threatened Munich with strong forward pressure early in the match, but a poor save from goalkeeper Andre Onana cost them the lead.
From then on, it was a case of Munich running away with the game. Four minutes into the second half, Rasmus Höwelun opened the scoring on his debut, but Munich responded with a Harry Kane penalty. In the dying minutes of the second half, Kasemir pulled a goal back before Mathis Thiel found the back of the net to restore the two-goal advantage. Just before the end of the game, Casemiro scored a multi-goaler to make it 4-3, but that was it.
The one-point victory was secured by the ironclad defense of Kim Min-jae, who used his quick feet to block all of United’s flanking attacks, and his dedicated, body-saving defense to keep them out of trouble. In the third minute of the second half, he caught up to Bruno with an explosive run and then put his head on the ball to make the save.
He also showed off his acrobatic defense. Kim Min-jae marked Hoi Lun in the 25th minute of the first half, turning his body to cut off a long pass with his heel. He didn’t just intercept the ball, he passed it accurately to his teammate.
He also showed off his perfect tackling skills. Kim Min-jae intercepted two consecutive passes in the second 20 minutes and won possession with a precise tackle. He then passed the ball forward to help his team attack. It was a typical Kim Min-jae defense.
Thanks to him, Munich was able to focus on attacking without worry. There were several times on the day when they were left with only Kim in the final third, with Dayo Upamecano climbing high into the box. However, Kim was able to take the pressure off of United and start the buildup with ease. His accurate long passes to the attackers were a bonus.
Bavarian Football named Kim “Emperor” after the last game against Leverkusen. The publication wrote: “Munich won a ridiculous 4-3 victory over United. There was a lot going on,” but praised “Kim Min-jae, who battled brilliantly against the United strikers and cleaned up all of their behind-the-back passes.”온라인카지노
Bavarian Football went on to say, “Kim did a good job of dealing with United in the early stages when Munich were locked in. Then, when Munich took control of the game, he erased the opposing strikers from sight. He is certainly living up to the huge expectations.” Hoi Lun, who joined United for £72 million this summer, also found himself outclassed by Kim Min-jae.
“There was very little he could do about any of the conceded goals,” he concluded. Even though Munich conceded three goals, he was not responsible for any of them.
He had the most touches, passes, and interceptions on the team and never allowed an opponent to break through on the dribble. According to soccer statistics site Footmob, he completed 92% of his passes (97/106), had 118 touches on the ball, created one chance, had six interceptions, one interception, one tackle, and one shot block. His rating of 6.7 was also first among defenders.