Kim Min-Jae, a shadow of the talismanic presence who helped end Napoli’s long wait for a Serie A title, endured another error-strewn evening as Bayern Munich were held 2-2 by Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
“If it wasn’t for the centre-half defending like a 14-year-old, (Bayern) would have won the game,” former England midfielder Danny Murphy said on talkSPORT, laying the blame at Kim’s door after he was caught out of position for Vinicius Junior’s opener and then gifted the Brazilian a brace with a late penalty.
“Basics. Absolute basics. Unbelievable. What a poor performance.”
Stuart Pearce, the legendary Three Lions left-back, was left with a similar feeling after watching Kim up close.
And he cannot help but wonder if Wembley would have turned host to an all-German clash between Bayern and Borussia Dortmund had Thomas Tuchel put his faith in Matthijs de Ligt instead during that first-leg draw.
De Ligt started the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu and looked far more comfortable with such an occasion, shutting down Vinicius time and again.
And, amid reports from Fabrizio Romano suggesting that De Ligt might now be on his way to Manchester United with the Dutchman giving a ‘green light’ to the move, Pearce has been left confused as to why Bayern would consider selling a man who comfortably outperformed his defensive team-mates when it mattered most.
“I am surprised they would want to move him on,” Pearce now tells talkSPORT (2 July, 12pm). “I covered both of the semi-finals.
“And if he’d played in the first semi-final instead of Kim, who was in his position, I think they would have won that and gone to the final, and maybe won the final from there.”
Pearce is not the only one baffled by Bayern’s decision.
The Bavarian giants will reportedly consider offers in the region of £42 million. De Ligt has been offered a five-year deal by Man United, per De Telegraaf, and would reunite at Old Trafford with the man who made him the youngest captain in Ajax’s storied history when he was only 18 years of age.
“I don’t know if De Ligt has shown 60 – 80 per cent of his potential,” Erik Ten Hag said back in 2018, feeling that it would only be a matter of time before the then-wonderkid would be the leading talent in his position across the game, per The Athletic.
“But we are talking about one of the best defenders in Europe. And I have no doubt that he will soon be number one in his position.”
Romano, writing on X, insists that ‘personal terms’ will not be an issue for De Ligt and United. The former Juventus man – who joined Bayern for nearly £70 million back in 2022 – is giving his priority to the Red Devils and appears reluctant to hold talks with any other club as long as United are at the table.
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