Min-Jae Kim's performance earned him a standing ovation as Bayern Munich continued their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga with a win over Freiburg.
Kingsley Coman's brace and Leroy Sane's strike gave Bayern Munich a 3-0 victory over SC Freiburg in the seventh round of the 2023/24 German Bundesliga at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany on Monday (Sept. 9).
With the win over Freiburg, Munich remained unbeaten in the league and added three more points to move into third place with 17 points (5W2D), behind Bayer Leverkusen (19W6D) and VfB Stuttgart (18W6D). Freiburg, on the other hand, dropped to ninth place with 10 points (3 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses).
South Korean defender Kim Min-jae was once again praised for starting and playing the full game, leading the team to a clean sheet.
Munich lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation on the day. Sven Ulreich was in goal, while Alfonso Davies, Kim Min-jae, Dayo Upamecano and Nusair Mazrouei formed the back four. Leon Goretzka and Jozua Kimmich guarded the back three, while Leroy Sane, Thomas Muller, and Kingsley Coman made up the back two. Harry Kane started up front.
Freiburg lined up in a 4-4-2. Noah Atubolu was in goal, while Lucas Kübler, Manuel Gulde, Philipp Lahm, and Kilian Sildiya formed the back four. Vincenzo Griffo, Maximilian Eggestein, Merlin Röhl, and Doan Litz lined up in midfield, with Lucas Höller and Roland Schurrle in front of the Munich goal.
The most notable change from the lineup against Freiburg was the start of Muller. In Munich's previous match, a 2-1 away win over FC Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League Group A second leg of the 2023/24 season at the Farken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, on April 4, Muller came on as a substitute.
After conceding an early goal and allowing Jamal Moussaoui to equalize to make it 1-1, Munich brought on Muller in the 32nd minute. The Munich vice-captain, who has 674 career appearances, scored the game-winner just five minutes after coming on.
A long kick from then-goalkeeper Ulreich was headed by Kane to the back of the Copenhagen defense, where it was collected by Muller, who fought off defenders to find himself one-on-one with the keeper. Rather than shoot, Muller kept his composure and passed to the onrushing Mathis Tell, who immediately fired a right-footed shot that rattled the Copenhagen net.
Muller's substitution proved to be a wise one, as the Bavarians took all three points in a 2-1 win in Copenhagen, extending their unbeaten run in the Champions League group stage to 36 games (W33 D3 L3) and consolidating their lead at the top of Group A with two games in hand.
Munich coach Thomas Tuchel was so impressed with Muller's performance that he immediately started him in the next game against Freiburg, and despite traveling to Denmark in midweek, he once again used the same starting lineup in Copenhagen, except for Muller in place of Moussa Allah. 바카라사이트
Munich took the lead in the first minute of the match with a huge goal. In the 11th minute, Kompany sent in a cross from the right flank that curled in a wide arc and headed straight at goal, beating goalkeeper Yatubolu.
Coman, who scored a fantastic opener in Freiburg, registered his first goal of the season with the strike, and Muller picked up an assist for the second game in a row as he passed to him before Coman could cross.
Buoyed by their lucky goal, Munich quickly added another to extend their lead. In the 24th minute, Sane made a nice dribble through the Freiburg defense before passing to Kane. Once inside the box, Kane played the ball back to Sane, who exchanged a two-on-one pass with Kane before slotting the ball into the back of the net with his left foot to make it 2-0.
Sane, who was in top form on the day, looked set to complete his hat-trick in the 43rd minute when, after receiving a pass from Coman, he once again dribbled past a Freiburg defender and rattled the net with a right-footed shot, but the goal was disallowed after video assistant referee (VAR) confirmed that he was offside when he received Coman's pass.
Coman's brilliant opener and Sane's second gave Munich a 2-0 lead at the break and put them one step closer to victory.
The score remained 2-0 in the second half, and in the 31st minute, Coman made another selfless play, only to be caught offside again. One-on-one with the goalkeeper, Coman chose to create a more perfect scoring opportunity by passing to Mathis Tell, who was next to him, rather than taking a direct shot.
Coman's pass rattled the Freiburg net without difficulty, but the goal was disallowed as the assistant referee immediately raised his flag for offside. The fans were disappointed with Coman's choice to pass rather than shoot.
Despite the missed opportunity, Coman's good fortune would pay off in the 39th minute of the second half. After receiving a penetrating pass from Konrad Reimer, Komang stepped into the box, beat one defender before unleashing a left-footed curling shot at the far post.
Coman's shot deflected off the back of Linhardt, the defender in front of him, and went straight into the net. The deflection sent the ball in a completely different direction than the Atubolu goalkeeper was expecting and he was unable to stop it.
Coman's multi-goal effort ended Freiburg's chances of catching up. Without conceding a further goal, Munich closed out the match 3-0 and remained unbeaten since the start of the season.
After the game, praise was heaped on Kim Min-jae, who played the entirety of the match. According to soccer stats site FobMob, Kim played a perfect 90 minutes, completing 92% of his passes (157/171), creating one chance, three interceptions, 10 recoveries, and winning 100% of his aerial balls (8/8). His rating of 8.3 was the highest of the night, behind only Coman (9.2) and Sane (8.5), who also scored.
In particular, Kim earned a standing ovation from the Munich home fans in the third minute of the second half when he used his physicality to stop Freiburg winger Maximilian Philipp from breaking into the box and converting a goal kick.
With this performance, Minjae followed up his previous one against Copenhagen with another solid performance, solidifying his position as a key defender for Munich.
Kim was criticized for his performance against RB Leipzig in the sixth round of the 2023/24 Bundesliga at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany, which ended in a 2-2 draw. After conceding two goals in the first half, Munich were on the verge of defeat before Kane and Sane scored a late equalizer and a late winner, respectively.
Kim Min-jae's passing was steady on the day, with 106 successful passes and a 92% completion rate, but he was often outplayed by opposing striker Roy Offenda, who won 25% of his aerial balls. Offenda grew in confidence after a few contests and made things difficult for Kim, and Munich capitalized on Sven Ulreich's mistakes to give Offenda a goal and an assist to give Leipzig the lead.
If Munich had lost, Tuchel would have been blamed for the defeat, and for the first time, he was critical of Kim.
According to Kicker, Germany's largest soccer publication, Tuchel criticized Kim and Upamecano, saying, "Kim had no reason to go one-on-one, and Upamecano didn't defend him, but instead went out and gave him space."
Not only Tuchel, but Germany and Munich legend Lothar Matthäus also pointed out Kim Min-jae. The legendary midfielder previously played for Munich from 1984 to 1988 and 1992 to 2000, winning seven Bundesliga titles with the club.
He also played for the German national team, winning the 1990 World Cup in Italy, and is the country's most capped player of all time with 150 caps. In addition to playing in the midfield, he was also recognized as a central defender during his time in Munich, where he excelled in the role of libero.
According to German outlet Sky Sports Germany, Mateusz criticized Kim's current form, saying, "Kim is not yet close to what we expected from him, and he is a source of anxiety for Munich".
"He needs to get used to the Bundesliga. I'm not against him, but considering what he's done in Italy, he hasn't lived up to the expectations I have for him yet," he said, noting that the former Italy defender has been a disappointment in Munich.
Mateusz's criticism is a stark change of attitude from the one he expressed back in June, before the signing was finalized.
In his personal column back in June, Mateusz expressed his opinion on Kim's move to Munich, stating that "Kim will be a really good transfer. He had a fantastic season at Napoli and for that reason alone, he would be a great fit for Munich," he wrote in favor of Kim joining the club in place of Luca Hernandez.
Just over three months later, Mateusz's scathing criticism of Kim was the first major blow to the youngster since joining the Bavarians, but he quickly silenced the critics and doubters with his performance.
After playing the full game in Copenhagen and putting in a solid performance to lead his team to victory, he followed it up with a fantastic performance in the weekend's league game, not only helping Munich to an unbeaten start but also earning a standing ovation from the home fans.