‘Kim Min-jae Debut Goal’ What was your reaction at the time?
Aleksandar Pavlovic’s reaction to assisting Kim Min-jae’s Bundesliga debut goal has gone viral.
Bayern Munich defeated Stuttgart 3-0 in the 15th round of the 2023-24 German Bundesliga at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, at 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 18. The win keeps Munich in second place in the league.
It was Munich with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Harry Kane, Leroy Sane, Thomas Muller, Jamal Musa, Rafael Guerrero, Pavlovic, Davies, Kim Min-Jae, Dayo Upamecano, Konrad Reimer, and Manuel Neuer started.
It was Munich who struck first in the early going. In the second minute, Sane picked up the ball near the halfway line, broke through and crossed into the center of the box, where the onrushing Kane calmly finished to give the Bavarians the lead.
From then on, it was all Munich. In the 24th minute, from a free kick on the left flank, Kim Min-jae headed home the first goal of the game. However, the goal was disallowed due to an offside penalty. In first-half stoppage time, Muller rattled the net for a third time, but it was also disallowed due to an offside call. The first half ended with a 1-0 Munich lead.
At the start of the second half, Munich added another goal. In the 10th minute of the second half, Pavlovic’s cross from a free kick was headed in by Kim Min-jae to make it 2-0. In the 18th minute of the second half, Pavlovic’s corner kick was headed in by Kim Min-jae to make it 3-0. The Bavarians then made two more substitutions, bringing on Mathis Thiel and Erik Maxim Choupo-Moting for Musiala and Muller, to seal the deal, and the game ended 3-0 in favor of Munich.
Aside from Kane and Kim Min-jae, the goalscorers of the game, there was an unsung hero. It was midfielder Pavlovic, born in 2004. In addition to his one assist, Pavlovic completed 86% of his passes, made two key passes, two long passes (out of three), and won four ground battles (out of eight), and the media recognized his performance by giving him a 7.7 rating, the fourth highest on the team.
In addition to congratulating Kim on his Bundesliga debut, the club also shared a video of Pavlovic’s reaction on social media after the game with the caption “Kim’s first goal in Munich, Pavlovic’s reaction says it all”. In the video released by the club, Pavlovic can be seen running towards Kim, pumping his fist in the air as he celebrates his goal. Pavlovic’s steady performance in the center of the midfield led to the team’s big win, and on this day, he was as much of a “world-class” midfielder as Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka.
