Praise and regret for Kim Min-jae (27, SSC Napoli), who is on the verge of winning Serie A, came out at once.
Kim Min-jae started in the 2022-2023 Serie A round 31 away match against Juventus held at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy on the 24th (Korean time) and contributed to Napoli’s 1-0 victory by showing a scoreless defense. After Kim Min-jae stopped Juventus’ offensive without making a mistake, Giacomo Raspadori volleyed a left-footed shot from Elif Elmas’ cross in the second half of extra time to decide the game.
With this victory, Napoli amassed 78 points, widening the gap to 2nd place Lazio (61 points) to 17 points. Napoli is now confirmed to win the title with just one win and two draws in the remaining seven matches. Napoli could win the next match and confirm the title depending on the result of Lazio.
On this day, Kim Min-jae, who played as a center back, did not concede a goal against Juventus’ powerful attacking team. Kim Min-jae, who succeeded in three clearings, the most in the team, actively blocked Arcadius Milik, Angel Di Maria, and Doosan Blahovic to lay the foundation for victory.
Italian journalist Umberto Chiariello gave ratings to Naples players and gave Kim Min-jae the highest rating of 8, saying, “Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Joao Jesus did well, but it was also Kim Min-jae.” It is a big difference compared to Di Lorenzo and Jesus who received 6.5 points.
Moreover, the fact that Raspadori, who scored the winning goal just before the end of the game, received 7 points, shows how much Kim Min-jae showed his presence that day.
Chiariello praised Kim Min-jae for his performance in the game that day, but then he remembered the Champions League quarter-final against AC Milan. He said, “Kim Min-jae is really a monster. He was the best player of the day,” but he looked sad, saying,안전놀이터 “Now do you realize who we lost against Milan?”
Kim Min-jae received a yellow card in the first leg of the quarterfinals against Milan, which was defeated 0-1, and was unable to play in the second leg due to accumulated warnings. In the end, Napoli drew 1-1 with Milan in the second leg, but was 1-2 on the aggregate of the first and second legs, failing to advance to the semifinals. Chiariello was resentful of losing to Milan without Kim Min-jae, who consistently showed his ‘iron pillar’ aspect.