South Korea national football team defender Kim Min-jae (28, Bayern Munich) has written his name into UEFA Champions League (UCL) history.
The defender started and played the full match against Benfica (Portugal) at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, on Sunday (July 7) in the fourth leg of the 2024-2025 UEFA UCL League Phase, scoring in the 1-0 home win.
Playing the full match at center back alongside Dayo Upamecano, Kim played the entirety of the match and made sure Bayern Munich’s defense was flawless, especially when it came to aerial battles, tackles, and clearances to deny Benfica’s various attacks, setting up Jamal Musial for the game-winner in the 22nd minute.
According to POTM, Kim touched the ball 125 times over the 90 minutes of the match, recording a 100% pass completion rate (113/113), 100% long pass completion rate (4/4), 14 passes into the attacking area, 0 lost balls, 3 interceptions, 2 header clearances, 1 interception, 카지노사이트 10 defensive actions, and 100% ground ball win rate (6/6).
The statistics company Opta emphasized that Kim’s 113 passes with 100 percent success is a UCL record.
This is the highest number of passes by a player with a 100% success rate in the 20 years since the 2003-2004 season was recorded.
What makes his record so impressive is that he didn’t just pass the ball to his teammates from behind. His passes included four long passes and 14 passes into the offensive zone. That’s how dominant he was.
Another statistical company, Sofascore, also emphasized that “since the start of the 2003-2004 Champions League, no player has ever attempted more than 103 passes in a game and had a 100% passing success rate. Kim Min-jae is the only one,” emphasizing his record.