Kim Min-jae was a shining pearl in defeat.
Napoli lost 0-1 in the 25th round of Italian Serie A in the 2022-23 season against Lazio held at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy on the 4th at 4:45 am (Korean time). With this defeat, Napoli failed to further widen the gap to the second place.
Kim Min-jae, who started out, played a defense that tied Lazio’s ace Chiro Immobile and Sergei Milinkovic-Savich.
From the start of the match, Napoli, despite being at home, couldn’t quite control Lazio’s attack. In the 20th minute of the first half, a good shooting opportunity came to Milinkovic-Savich, but Kim Min-jae defended it with physical defense.
Even in the second half, when Lazio began to attack more, Kim Min-jae shone. Lazio used a tactic of crouching and instantly switching to an attack, but Kim Min-jae appeared every time. In the 16th minute of the second half, a penetration pass was delivered to Immobile, but Kim Min-jae overcame the speed competition with Immobile.
Napoli conceded a goal to Matthias Vesino in the 23rd minute of the second half, but there was nothing Kim Min-jae could do in this scene. Napoli, which could not be defeated, had all players except Kim Min-jae and Rahmani involved in the attack, increasing the defensive burden, but Kim Min-jae played his role 100%.
Lazio’s counterattack began in the 32nd minute of the second half. Kim Min-jae blocked it one step ahead, but he couldn’t handle the ball clearly. Lazio went on the attack again, but Kim Min-jae succeeded in defending again. 세븐 토토
Kim Min-jae showed his concentration on the set piece as the team was behind. In the 33rd minute of the second half, Victor Osimen connected Hvitza Kravatshelia’s cross with his head, but it hit the post. Kim Min-jae shot the ball that came out of the goal post, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper.
Despite Kim Min-jae’s struggle, Napoli was unable to turn the game around. On the relay screen after the game, Kim Min-jae collapsed from exhaustion was captured. He was Kim Min-jae, who played a tough game physically, but his defense concentration never wavered. The team lost, but Kim Min-jae did not lose. There are not many players in the world who can block Immobile and Milinkovic-Savic so thoroughly.