Bayern Munich fell to Manchester City on Sunday after a disappointing performance from Dani Upamecano.
The Bavarians fell 1-2 to City in a preseason friendly at the Tokyo National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Munich’s formation of choice was a 4-2-3-1. Starting up front were Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, Jamal Musa, Leroy Sane, Konrad Reimer, Joshua Kimmich, Alfonso Davies, Upamecano, Benjamin Pavard, and Nusar Mazhrawi. Jan Zomer got the goalkeeping gloves.
City started Julian Alvarez, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, James McAteer, Mateo Kovacic, Rico Luiz, Nathan Ake, Juventus Dias, John Stones, and Kyle Walker. Ederson was in goal.
Matthias Der Licht, a key part of Munich’s defense, was left out of the squad as he recovers, as was Kim Min-Jae, who joined the club in the summer transfer window. Tuchel had already announced his absence in a press conference after arriving in Tokyo. The reason given was that he had been undergoing basic military training for over a month and was out of shape. Kim Min-jae also said that he is still not in good shape and will focus on improving his game and physical condition as soon as possible.메이저놀이터
Der Licht’s absence was filled by Upamecano, and his center back partner was Fabar, who can play both center back and full back. Given that it’s an uncommon combination, and that it’s still preseason, both players’ performances were disappointing.
The Upamecano struggled to stop the opposition’s dribbling and penetration throughout the first half. He missed a penetrating Lewis on the opening goal, which set the stage for McAteer’s goal. Toward the end of the first half, they also failed to handle the ball properly and allowed their opponents to counterattack. Munich made all of their field players at the start of the second half, with Upamecano heading to the bench with a rating of 6.6, Munich’s third-lowest rating according to soccer statistician SofaScore.
The match ended in a 1-2 defeat for Munich. After conceding a first-half goal to McAteer, the Bavarians equalized in the second half through Mathis Thiel, before conceding the game-winner to Aymeric Laporte in the dying minutes.
The Upamecano’s disappointing performance can be taken as a positive for Kim Min-jae. With Der Licht being a key part of Munich’s defense, it’s likely that Upamecano will be his real competition. Based on Upamecano’s often disappointing performances last season and his performances in the preseason friendlies, he should be able to compete for a starting spot if he improves his form.
Kim has yet to play a game for Munich, but he is already being touted as a starter next season. German outlet Kicker predicted that the center back combination for Munich next season will most likely consist of Kim and Der Licht, while the official Bundesliga website also predicted that Kim will be in Munich’s best eleven.
Since joining the team, Kim has impressed his teammates and Tuchel. According to Germany’s TZ, “Kim has become a role model for Munich after rejecting Tuchel’s offer. The new player is in the middle of Munich’s training camp and has earned Tuchel’s praise.” Tuchel said that he praised Kim.
This was due to Kim’s attitude. Kim had been enjoying a vacation after coming out of basic military training earlier this month. He was relaxing in Korea and spending some personal time. He could have joined the team during Munich’s Asian tour, but he chose to join the team first despite Munich’s offer. Moreover, Kim joined training immediately after his arrival, which was bound to make a good impression on the team.
“He didn’t want to waste any time in becoming the boss of the defense and politely declined the club’s offer to join the Asian Tour,” said TZ. He would rather prepare for the season at full speed than take a vacation,” explaining that Kim chose to join the team early rather than take a vacation.
Tuchel was also pleased. “He was fantastic for Napoli last season,” Tuchel said after the signing. He’s had an unusual career path, coming to Napoli from China and Turkkiye, but that speaks volumes about his quality. He is tall, fast, and extremely reliable. He had a flawless season and is the perfect replacement for Luca Hernandez. I’ve spoken to him a few times on video before,” Tuchel said, expressing his excitement about the youngster.
In the video released afterward, Tuchel approached Kim and showed him affection by hugging him and stroking his cheek, saying, “You’re going to do really well here, I’m so happy you’re here. You’re going to love life in Munich, I promise.”
Tuchel is not the only one with high hopes for Kim in Munich. After the announcement of the signing, the club published a post on their website with information about Kim. While Kim developed into a world-class defender last season, the post was aimed at fans who didn’t know much about him.
“No matter which team he plays for, Kim Min-jae has always been a starter. He is 190 centimeters tall and is strong in the air at Napoli. He won 92 aerial duels in the league last season. This was the second highest among defenders. And he scored two goals with his head alone,” explaining his ability to win aerial balls.
“He excelled in contested situations last season. He won 63% of his contested balls in all competitions. In 35 league games, he only allowed the opponent to dribble five times,” he said, noting that Kim’s success rate is high and that he doesn’t allow opponents to break through the dribble very often.
“In addition to his defense, he is also a player who can build up. He has a 91% passing success rate in all competitions, and last season he made the most forward passes (1,057) and received the third most passes (2,547) among field players in Europe’s top five leagues.” Munich also noted his buildup ability.