Kim Min-jae praised after 6 minutes on the pitch: "Fantastic through pass"... Substituted in, immediately set up the decisive goal

*This content was translated by AI.

Kim Min-jae (30, Bayern Munich), a defender for the South Korean national football team, received high praise from local German media despite his brief playing time.

On the 23rd (Korean time), Munich secured a 2-0 victory over Leverkusen in the DFB Pokal quarterfinal match held at BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany. With this win, Munich advanced to the final, earning a chance to claim the title for the first time since 2020, six years later.

The DFB Pokal final is scheduled for the 24th of next month. Having already reached the final, Munich will face the winner of the other quarterfinal match between Stuttgart and Freiburg for the championship trophy.

Additionally, Munich is aiming for the European treble (winning three major titles) this season. Munich had already secured the 2025–2026 Bundesliga title early on the 20th. If they also win the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League (UCL), where they have reached the semifinals, the club will achieve its third treble in history. Munich has previously accomplished the challenging European treble in the 2012–2013 and 2019–2020 seasons.

On this day, South Korea's "monster defender" Kim Min-jae also delivered an impressive performance. After Harry Kane scored the opening goal in the 22nd minute of the first half to put Munich ahead 1-0, the team substituted Jamal Musiala for Kim Min-jae in the 39th minute of the second half to focus on defending the lead.

However, Kim Min-jae shone not in defense but in attack. In stoppage time of the second half, Kim Min-jae delivered a precise pass near the halfway line, which connected with Leon Goretzka's dynamic run and Michael Olise's clever "layoff," completely breaking down the opposing defense. Luis Diaz then finished cleanly to score the decisive goal. Although the goal was initially ruled offside, it was confirmed after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review. Kim Min-jae also recorded an assist.

Local media also offered praise. German outlet Sport1 stated, "Kim Min-jae made a fantastic through pass to Goretzka, who was sprinting forward. Goretzka, even while falling, passed perfectly to Diaz at the right moment. Diaz then scored in a one-on-one duel against the opposing goalkeeper," offering high praise.

Kim Min-jae did not receive a match rating due to his limited playing time on this day. However, he demonstrated his presence by contributing to the decisive goal.

Meanwhile, Diaz, the "hero of the decisive goal," and team center-back Jonathan Tah, who shut down the opponent's attack without conceding a goal, both received the highest rating of 1.5. In Germany's rating system, a lower score indicates a better performance. Another football statistics platform, FotMob, also gave Diaz the highest rating of 8.7.

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*This content was translated by AI.