‘Monster’ Kim Min-jae played full-time for the 13th consecutive game. Bayern Munich advanced to the round of 16.
Bayern Munich defeated Galatasaray of Turkiye 2-1 in the fourth leg of their 2023-2024 UEFA Champions League Group A match at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, on Monday (Jan. 9). With the win, Bayern made it four wins out of four and booked their place in the round of 16. The Bavarians have now won their last 17 games in a row in the UCL group stage, extending their unbeaten run to 38 games (W35 D3). With United’s loss, the Bavarians clinched top spot in the group and took the pressure off their remaining games. Bayern will advance to the Round of 16 even if they lose all their games. Galatasaray drops to third place with one win, one draw, and two losses.
Bayern went with a 4-2-3-1 on the day. Harry Kane started up top, flanked by Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sane, and Jamal Moussaoui in attacking midfield. Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich formed the back three. The back four was made up of Alfonso Davies, Kim Min-Jae, Dayo Upamecano, and Nusair Mazrawi. Manuel Neuer wore the goalkeeping gloves.
Galatasaray countered with a 4-2-3-1. Mauro Icardi starts up front, with Hakim Ziyech-Kerem Akhturkolu-Wilfried Zaha forming the second line. Lucas Torreira and Kahn Aihan are the defensive midfielders. Sacha Bui, Davinson Sanchez, Abdulkerim Bardakci, and Angelinho form the back four. Fernando Muslera was in goal.토토사이트
In his pre-match press conference, head coach Thomas Tuchel warned of Galatasaray’s quality. “We had a lot of problems in the first game that we can learn from,” Tuchel said. Galatasaray were very strong, they play with a lot of intensity and courage. In the first 70 minutes, they defended from a high position and ran a lot. We had to overcome a lot of pressure. I expect a very strong, very intense team tomorrow.” “Galatasaray reminds me a bit of Atalanta from a few years ago. We need to be precise in our movements and be organized. When we beat Dortmund last weekend, we needed to be aggressive. I expect an intense and difficult match.”
Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk added: “Our goal is to get through the group stage. We are facing a very high quality team. We saw their capabilities clearly in the last match. Bayern’s strikers are very fast and get to the opponent’s goal very quickly. They are good both on the ground and in the air.” “We have a very difficult game ahead of us. But we are confident. We believe in our players. We will give our best on the pitch like we did in the last match, with the fans of Turkuye behind us. I hope our performance will translate into results in this match as well.”
As Tuchel said, the last meeting was not an easy one. Bayern won 3-1 in their third group game against Galatasaray at Rams Park in Turkkiye Istanbul on March 25. The Bavarians looked to be on course for an easy victory when Coman opened the scoring in the eighth minute of the first leg after a pass from Zane. However, they were unable to capitalize on Galatasaray’s strong forward pressure. Bayern eventually equalized on a penalty kick in the 30th minute to send the game back to level. Bayern struggled in the first half, being out-shot 3-16 and out-shot 2-4.
With the score tied 1-1, Bayern continued to struggle in the second half as Galatasaray attacked. Luckily, Bayern had a solution. Kane. In the 28th minute, Kane pounced on a pass from Musiala on the right side of the penalty area and slotted home a deft right-footed heel kick from the front of the goal area after a defender had been beaten. Bayern sealed the victory in the 34th minute when Kane’s cutback from the left side of the penalty area was met by Mkhitaryan with a right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area.
Kim Min-jae played the full game and helped secure the victory. Kim made two tackles, two interceptions, two shot blocks, and most importantly, did not allow a single dribble break. He did not concede an in-play goal against an opponent that fired 20 shots. But the ratings weren’t high. The statistical company Sofascore gave him a rating of 7.1. It was the lowest after Derrich and left-back Alfonso Davies (above 7.0). Another statistician, HooScore.com, gave Kim a rating of 6.9 and Derrycht a rating of 6.9. This is second only to midfielder Joshua Kimmich (6.7). Football publication 90min gave Kim the lowest rating of 5,
Kim and Mertens met after the game. Kim was the hero of Napoli’s title run last season. He was brought in as a replacement for Kalidou Koulibaly, and his fantastic defense helped the team win the title. Despite only playing for one season, he is considered a Napoli hero. Mertens joined Napoli from PSV Eindhoven in the 2013-2014 season and has been the club’s ace for nine years. He consistently scored double-digit goals while playing both up front and in the second line.
Mertens left the club ahead of the 2022-2023 season to join Turkkiye, where he and Kim were unable to work together. But as fate would have it, the pair embraced after the game, sharing some Napoli DNA. “The harmony in blue was unquestionable,” said Areanapoli. Napoli fans also applauded the meeting of the two legends.
Bayern can clinch an early berth in the round of 16 with a win in the return leg against Galatasaray. It’s been a roller coaster ride for Bayern lately. The Bavarians dropped a 2-1 decision to FC Saarbrücken in the second round of the 2023-2024 DFB Pokal Cup on Sunday at the Ludwigsparkstadion in Saarbrücken, Germany. Saarbrücken is a member of the 3. Liga, Germany’s third tier. Saarbrücken is an underdog in the 3. Liga this season, ranked 15th. However, Bayern, Germany’s most decorated soccer team, has won the Pokal Cup (20 times). The Bavarians were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Pokal Cup last season by Freiburg, and this season they packed up in the second round. It was an early end to their treble dreams.
They turned things around with a win in the “der Klassiker” against “rivals” Dortmund. Bayern cruised to a 4-0 victory over Dortmund in the 10th round of the 2023-2024 German Bundesliga at Dortmund’s Zignale Iduna Park on Friday, led by a hat-trick from Kane. With the win, Bayern secured their first der Klassiker of the season and remained unbeaten since the start of the campaign to remain in second place with 26 points. Following a 1-1 draw in the two meetings last season, the Bavarians have dominated the last five meetings with four wins and a draw. The gap to ‘leaders’ Leverkusen (28 points) is two points. Dortmund dropped to fourth place with the loss, trailing third-place Stuttgart (21 points) on goal difference.
After the victory over Dortmund, there was an exchange between Tuchel and ‘legend’ Lothar Matthaeus. “I’m sure Mateus and Dietmar Hamann know why we won,” Tuchel said, adding, “I’m really happy with the team right now.” Tuchel took a swipe at Mateusz, who had criticized Bayern’s recent performances. Mateusz was right next to him with a microphone. “The commentator can say what he wants to say,” Tuchel said. We won 4-0. Now you’re going to have to tell a 180-degree story. Have fun with it,” and put the microphone down.
Eventually, Mateusz’s tail came down. “Unfortunately, Bayern’s performance has been underappreciated,” he said in a recent interview, adding that “very little is known about the brilliant victory over Dortmund, which was Bayern’s best game this season”. “I feel sorry for the team and the players. They deserve all the praise they can get for a great performance,” he said, adding, “That’s the way Bayern wants to play football.” “Tuchel is clearly doing his best. He is a win-oriented coach who hates to lose.
Bayern’s mixed results have pointed the finger at Kim Min-jae. Kim Min-jae had a lackluster performance against Saarbrücken. Misplaced passes and missed tackles contributed to the opponent’s equalizer. On the day, Kim made one block, three clearances, one interception, 10 recoveries, two ground balls won, and two aerial balls won. In the buildup, he attempted 130 passes, completing 120 of them. That’s a passing success rate of 92%. He also made 10 passes into the attacking third and three long passes.
He received harsh criticism from various media outlets. “He made unnecessarily risky passes that led to Bayern Munich conceding goals,” said TZ. He often failed to focus on the buildup and was not aggressive with the ball. ‘A mistake by Kim Min-jae allowed Saarbrücken to equalize,’ said Sportschau. German outlet Spox said: ‘He was the only center back left for Bayern Munich after De Ligt was injured. A sloppy pass from Kim Min-jae led to the equalizer. He had a lot of possession as usual, but he couldn’t have done much better.
Tuchel was particularly vocal. In his post-match press conference, Tuchel said, “Franz was under a lot of pressure and his decision was definitely not good. He had a 50-50 chance, but he could have kept pushing forward.