2-2 for 120 minutes with Cremonese… A painful equalizer was allowed in the 42nd minute of the second half
Kim Min-jae, I thought I was taking a break this time… Substituted in the 37th minute of the second half in a close game
SSC Napoli, an Italian professional football team where Kim Min-jae started as a substitute in the second half, was knocked out of the Coppa Italia in the round of 16 after going to the penalty shoot-out against the lowest-ranked team in the league.
Napoli lost 4-5 in a penalty shootout after facing 2-2 for 120 minutes until overtime in the 2022-2023 Coppa Italia Round of 16 home game held at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy on the 18th (Korean time).
Napoli stopped trying to win the Coppa Italia for the 7th time in three years after the 2019-2020 season.
The first domestic double in 36 years (2 gold medals in domestic competitions) was also canceled.
Napoli won both Serie A and Coppa Italia in the 1986-1987 season, when Diego Maradona was active, and achieved the first and last domestic double in the club’s history.
Napoli are currently leading the league in Serie A.
Kim Min-jae was substituted for Leo Skiri Ostögard in the 37th minute of the second half when Napoli was leading 2-1, and played the ground until the end of the game, but could not prevent the team from losing.
In particular, it was regrettable that they allowed a 2-2 equalizer in the 42nd minute of the second half, 5 minutes after Kim Min-jae’s input.
Kim Min-jae plays full-time in almost every game in Serie A, UEFA Champions League (UCL).
It has been four months since Kim Min-jae did not play as a starter in Napoli since the 6th round of Serie A against Spezia on September 10 last year.
Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti tried to give Kim Min-jae a complete break while operating the rotation that day, but it seems that he let him play when the match turned out to be close.
Cremonese has been promoted to Serie A this season and is currently in 20th place (7 points), the lowest.
Napoli conceded the first goal to Charles Pickel in the 18th minute, but Juan Jejus scored in the 33rd minute and Giovanni Simeone in the 36th minute turned the game around.
However, in the 42nd minute of the second half, Napoli scored an equalizer with Felix Afenazan’s header following Luca Zanimacchia’s cross and was dragged into overtime.
There were two Napoli defenders in front of Apenazan, including Kim Min-jae, but they could not mark properly as if their concentration was disturbed.
Napoli had a numerical advantage in the 10th minute of extra time when Cremonese defender Leonardo Sernicola was sent off for accumulated yellow cards.
Sernicola received a second yellow card for stepping on the ankle of Andre Franck Jambo Angusa during a ball duel.
However, Napoli failed to turn many scoring opportunities into goals, and eventually a penalty shoot-out took place.
All Cremonese kickers succeeded in the penalty shootout, and Stanislav Lobotka, the fourth kicker in Napoli, missed.
/yunhap news
