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| Photo =Brentford Club's official SNS capture |
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The door to the Korean English Premier League (EPL) in 2025 was opened by Kim Ji-soo (20, Brentford).
Brentford, led by head coach Thomas Frank, lost 1-3 to Arsenal in the 2024-2025 EPL home game at G-Tech Community Stadium in London, England, on the 2nd (Korea time). Brentford have only won four recent league games (one draw and three losses). He ranked 12th in the league (24 points).
It was a match that drew attention from fans. This is because it was the first game to open the EPL in 2025. Moreover, there was a pleasant observation that Kim Ji-soo might play in the game. Kim Ji-soo achieved his `EPL debut dream' in an away league game against Brighton on the 28th of last month. At that time, Kim Ji-soo started the game on the bench and was replaced by Venmi in the 33rd minute of the second half when it was 0-0. As a result, Kim Ji-soo became the 15th and youngest Korean player to debut on the EPL stage. Kim Ji-soo showed a calm and stable performance even though it was his first game. Coach Frank made his debut in the EPL with Kim Ji-soo and Hakon Valdimarsson. I enjoyed the performance of the two. Suddenly he came on as a substitute, but he was calm. I was very satisfied with this." Going one step further, global sports media ESPN expected Kim Ji-soo to start the game against Arsenal.
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| Photo by Kim Ji-soo personal SNS capture |
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| Photo =Brentford Club's official SNS capture |
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I opened the lid. Kim Ji-soo started the game on the bench again this time. Brentford took the lead in the 13th minute with a first goal from Brian Mbjömo. However, they lost consecutive points to Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli, falling to 1-3. Coach Frank made a bold decision. In the 30th minute of the second half, he showed a winning move to replace four players at the same time. One striker and two midfielders have been replaced. And very unusual changes were made to the defensive line. Sepp van den Berg was removed and Kim Ji-soo was added.
Kim Ji-soo played calmly on this day as well. According to WhoScored, which specializes in soccer statistics, Kim Ji-soo recorded a 95% pass success rate on the day. In addition, as a starting point for the build-up, he was momentarily involved in the attack depending on the situation. At the end of the second half, Arsenal defended their space and silenced the opponent's attack.
After the game, Kim Ji-soo said in an interview with Sports Chosun in the mixed zone (joint coverage area), `I'm really grateful that I can play against a good team called Arsenal. It's not a lot of time, but I was satisfied with the time given. I'm happy to be able to play in the stadium itself. I think it would be best to prepare well and show the same good performance if we continue to have opportunities like this in the future.
He is still out of his mind. I always try to concentrate and do it. I always enter the stadium with excitement. Happy moments seem to continue. Rather than being impatient and stressed, I think it's something I can do to wait well like now and show good performances when I have a chance and repay them with good performances. The tempo is faster than you can imagine. I think it will be a priority to match the speed of EPL. First of all, the team's victory is the most important."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
