Kim Min-jae tied Romelu Lukaku tightly.
Napoli won 3-1 against Inter Milan in the 36th round of Italian Serie A in the 2022-23 season held at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naforil, Italy on the 22nd at 1:00 am (Korean time). With 3 points, Napoli remain in first place.
On this day, Napoli put in a large number of key players as starters. Most of Napoli’s key players, including Kim Min-jae, Victor Osimen, Hvitza Kvarachhelia, Amir Rahmani, Stanislav Lobotka, Piotr Zielinski, and Jambo Angusha, started the game. Napoli confirmed the league championship early, but it seems that they sent their main players to reverse the atmosphere because they have not won many recent victories.
Kim Min-jae, who always played as a left center back, faced Lukaku as a right striker. Lukaku, nicknamed the ‘monster striker’, is over 190cm tall and weighs over 100kg. Even just watching the video of the match, you can tell how big Lukaku is.메이저놀이터
Kim Min-jae was not pushed by Lukaku. Kim Min-jae digested about 75 minutes before being replaced, and he tied Lukaku tightly throughout the game, making Lukaku unable to do anything. Lukaku was able to catch his breath only after Kim Min-jae was replaced, and soon he even scored.
Based on the football statistics media ‘Pot Mob’, Kim Min-jae recorded 1 successful tackle (50%), 1 block, 2 clears, 1 interception, 6 recoveries, and 2 successful ground contests (50%). ‘Pot Mob’ gave Kim Min-jae a rating of 7.5. Considering that Kim Min-jae faced Lukaku in most defensive situations, it can be said to be a decent defensive stat.
Italian local media poured out rave reviews toward Kim Min-jae. Among them, Italy’s Calcio Napoli said, “Kim Min-jae is an unrivaled player. He made it impossible for Lukaku to breathe properly.” If Napoli hadn’t taken out Kim Min-jae as a substitute, he might not have conceded to Lukaku.