Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) midfielder Lee Kang-in returned to PSG after the Asian Cup in the European Champions League match and reported his first offensive point. PSG won 2-1 in the second leg of the round of 16 of the European Champions League (UCL) between 2023 and 2024 against Real Sociedad at Realre Arena in San Sebastian, Spain, on the 6th (Korea time). PSG, which won 2-0 in the first leg, widened the gap in this game and easily confirmed its advance to the quarterfinals with a total of 4-1 in the first and second games. Sociedad, the home team, launched a 4-3-3 formation. Takefusa Gubo, Mikel Oyarsabal, and Cheraldo Becker built the front line, while Bryce Díaz, Martin Subimendi, and Mikel Merino stepped up in the midfield. Four-back consisted of Amari Traore, Igor Subeldia, Robin Le Normand and Harvey Gallan. Alex Remiro defended the goal. The visiting team PSG faced off in a 4-3-3 formation. Kylian Mbappe, Bradley Barcola and Usman Dembele were in the front three positions, while Warren Jair Emery, Fabian Lewis and Vitinha worked together in the midfield. Nunu Mendes, Lucas Beraldu, Luca Hernandez and Ashraf Hakimi were in the four-back. Gianluigi Donnarumma wore goalkeeper gloves. ▶Less playing time, shaky position of Lee Kang-in Lee Kang-in played for only four minutes in the previous league game against AS Monaco. Lee Kang-in, who was put in only the 41st minute of the second half, ended the game without time to play. Lee Kang-in, who was sluggish in the last match against Nantes and also against Stade Ren, struggled after playing in the Asian Cup despite a good start earlier this season. He played about 61 minutes in the match against Nantes, who returned as a starter after the Asian Cup, and recorded two chances and one shot. Lee Kang-in also had a disappointing 0% ball-contention success rate and 22% cross success rate. The French media’s rating was also low in line with his disappointing performance. The 90min French version of France gave Lee Kang-in four points in the team, the lowest in the team, and said, “Lee Kang-in did not leave a deep impression. He was not inspired by the stadium, and was easily blocked by Nantes’ defense.” French Foot Mercado also gave Lee Kang-in five points, saying, “Lee Kang-in tried to play and connect with his partners, but it was not helpful. On the other hand, Dembele was active and made a clear difference on the right side,” and evaluated that Dembele was a better look. In addition, most French media gave Lee Kang-in the lowest rating in the team, and Luca Hernandez and Ugarte were highly evaluated. He failed to rebound in the subsequent match against Rennes. He started the game and played for 45 minutes before being replaced. He left the game with little influence on the field, including 88 percent pass success rate, one successful tackle, two recoveries of ownership of the ball, and one opportunity creation. The rating also revealed regret. Football statistics media Footmob gave Lee Kang-in the lowest rating except for goalkeeper Donnarumma, giving him a rating of 6.3. French media were even more suspicious. French footballer Foot Mercato gave Lee three points, the lowest score in his team, and said, “Lee failed to show the impact he had in the midfielder area. He was technically sloppy in handling the ball, and lost ownership of the ball several times.” In the end, he was replaced at half-time after much disappointment due to his poor handling of the situation. French footballer Maxi Foote also gave the lowest score of three points and pointed out, “It did not affect the development of the attack at all, and only the scene where he lost the ball due to excessive caution was noticeable.” Ahead of the match, Lee Kang-in predicted that the possibility of starting is not very high. France’s RMC Sports predicted that Dembele, Mbappe and Barcola would play as strikers, while Emery, Vitinha and Luis would form the midfield. The defense predicted that Hernandez, Mendes, Marquinos and Hakimi would build, while Donnarumma would protect the goal. Le Parisien also expected Dembele, Mbappe and Barcola to play as strikers, while Emery, Vitinha and Luis would form the midfield. However, Le Parisien also added the possibility of Lee Kang-in’s selection. In the end, Lee Kang-in was excluded from the game’s starting list and had to play as a substitute.
▶Contents of the game
PSG pushed Sociedad from the beginning of the game. Mbappe’s cutback pass, which penetrated into the opponent’s box through a fast forward in the 9th minute of the first half, was connected to the center of the box, but Barcola failed to finish it properly.
PSG also scored the opening goal. PSG took the lead in the 15th minute of the first half when Mbappe directly beat a defender from deep right side of the penalty box and poked into the corner of Sociedad’s goal.
The offensive continued afterwards. After quickly stealing the ball through forward pressure in the 29th minute of the first half, Mbappe aimed at the corner of the goal with his right foot shot that Barcola put into the center of the penalty box, but he swallowed the disappointment as he was blocked by Remiro’s foot.
Sociedad struggled for a chance to counterattack. In the 45th minute of the first half, Gubo tried to finish the shot from the right side of the penalty box after a direct breakthrough, but the ball flew out to the far side of the net.
PSG put Lee Kang-in at the start of the second half. Barcola was missing and Lee Kang-in entered the stadium as a substitute.
Lee Kang-in moved actively with the input and attempted to shoot. Lee Kang-in, who caught the ball from the right side in the third minute of the second half, attempted a left-footed shot from the front of the right side of the penalty box after a slight advance, but unfortunately failed to head to the goal as he was caught in the defense located in the center of the box.
Lee Kang-in scored an attack point by helping Mbappe score. In the 11th minute of the second half, Lee Kang-in attempted a sharp pass that fell into the back space of the defense, and Mbappe caught it and ran. Mbappe finished the accurate shot with the near goal in the box. It was Mbappe’s score following Lee Kang-in’s pass after a long time.
Sociedad shook the net, but it was not recognized as a goal. In the 18th minute of the second half, Ander Barrennetsea’s header, following defensive Mendy’s cross, scored the net, but it did not lead to a goal as an offside was declared.
Sociedad continued to push his opponent from the middle of the second half. In the 42nd minute of the second half, Olasagati’s shot shook the upper net, and in the 44th minute of the second half, Gubo’s cross was blocked by Donnarumma.
Sociedad, who continued to shake the opponent, recovered one goal. In the 44th minute of the second half, when Gubo’s attack after a corner kick was blocked by Donnarumma’s defense, Merino pushed the bounced ball back and scored.
In the end, the game ended with PSG’s 2-1 victory.
▶Will Lee Kang-in rebound from the main match
Despite playing as a substitute in the second half of the game, Lee Kang-in showed stable performance with one assist, one shot, one dribble success, and 67 percent success in ball competition. The standard score of the soccer statistics media foot mob was 7.4 points, which was observed.
Lee Kang-in has generally shown good performance and dedication to the team every time he played, except for the period he was injured earlier this season. Lee Kang-in has continued to play well in PSG regardless of the midfield and attack this season. However, the start was a little shaky. Lee Kang-in was injured twice as soon as he joined PSG. In July, he suffered a thigh injury in a friendly against Le Havre, the first pre-season game. Lee Kang-in failed to play a pre-season game after his injury against Le Havre, but returned as a substitute in the last game against Jeonbuk Hyundai.
In September, he injured his left quadriceps. Lee Kang-in, who was replaced in the match against Toulouse, surprised fans with the news of his injury. Lee Kang-in, who took a break again, was able to take the ground as a substitute only in the first group match of the European Champions League against Dortmund just before the Asian Games. Fortunately, he returned quickly after finishing both with minor injuries.
He began to play in earnest in October. He won the gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and scored his A-match debut goal in the match against Tunisia. He continued his performance after returning to PSG. He started against Strasbourg and scored his first goal for PSG in the third round of the European Champions League group stage against AC Milan at home on the 26th of last month. Lee Kang-in, who was deployed in the 26th minute of the second half, scored his team’s third goal by receiving a pass from Zaire-Emery in the 44th minute of the second half when PSG was leading by two goals, helping his team win 3-0. With this score, Lee Kang-in scored his debut goal in five games after joining PSG.
He showed consistent performance in the league. Lee Kang-in, who started in an away game in Brest in the 10th round of the league following the match against Strasbourg, helped Mbappe score goals in two consecutive matches, and successfully achieved offensive points. In the match against Montpellier, where he started five consecutive matches, he scored the finisher and the first goal in the league.
He also praised his senior player at PSG. Davy Ginola, who has played for PSG and Tottenham, said, “When I look at Lee Kang-in as a player, he has a left foot that looks a lot like Messi’s since he played for Mallorca. The way he always looks different when he plays with his left foot can be found in the movements and gestures that Messi made for Barcelona. I wait for Lee Kang-in to blossom and improve at PSG,” he said in a huge compliment.
The popularity was beyond imagination. Fabrice Hawkins, a leading reporter for RMC Sports in France, noted Lee Kang-in’s immense popularity since the pre-season, saying, “Lee Kang-in is leading the way even as the player who has sold the most uniforms in the store, followed by Neymar and Marquignos.” Lee Kang-in even reported that after the opening of the season, he beat Mbappe in terms of uniform sales. Some media outlets said that Lee Kang-in’s joining of PSG has been less than half a season, but it is a definite hit. Didier Domi, a former PSG player and currently working as a technical advisor for PSG Academy, made a similar argument to this opinion. Domi said, “I think Lee Kang-in is a very technical player. He is not afraid to take the ball and turn. He has the ability to cope with pressure and turn. It is effective to use him as a midfielder,” stressing that Lee Kang-in should be in the midfield.
The Ligue 1 secretariat also said, ‘PSG Lee Kang-in is an undercover superstar. Lee Kang-in’s uniform is selling like hot cakes at PSG. Lee Kang-in’s name stands out more than the names of Kylian Mbappe and Usman Dembele. Korean tourists continue to flock to the Parc des Princes,’ highlighting Lee Kang-in’s popularity. “PSG is benefiting from the presence of Lee Kang-in. Not only is he a useful player for Coach Luis Enrique, but he is also helping PSG become more popular than ever in Asia. The 22-year-old has a long way to go, but he has become a new star in Asia and has everything to succeed Korean national team star Son Heung-min.”
However, the evaluation began to change as he struggled in the European Champions League (UCL) selection. Unlike in the league, his first UCL selection was not well-received, despite his desire to make his first UCL start in the fifth group match against Newcastle. French media Foot Mercato criticized Lee Kang-in’s performance against Newcastle, saying, “It would have been his worst performance at PSG. I saw him play less in his usual position, which can be explained as his technical waste. He had too many pass and cross failures. It was a remarkable activity, but it was not enough to play a decisive role.”
He made up for his sluggishness in the UCL in the league. He started in one midfield spot against Le Havre, and he also had an impressive record of 89 percent pass success rate and three dribbles, but he also looked a little disappointing as he lost the most ball competition in the game. However, the French media said about Lee Kang-in, “Lee Kang-in’s breakthrough in Mbappe’s score created the rest of the action.” Lee Kang-in, who was immersed in protecting the possession of the ball to make up for mistakes even late in the second half, helped the team breathe at certain moments. As every time coach Enrique believed in him this season, he sacrificed himself without thinking about his own interests,” he noted Lee Kang-in’s dedication. In the subsequent match against Nantes, he played as a right winger, and despite criticism from some French media, he continued to play in the league with top ratings in the team. 룸알바
His performance in Game 6 of the UCL was disappointing. Coach Luiz Enrique deployed Lee Kang-in as the midfield player instead of the right winger position, which was unfortunate in the match against Nantes, but he did not perform very well. After the slump in the match against Dortmund, some French media outlets expressed negative opinions as if they had been waiting for him. The Paris team, which reported the PSG news, also explained about Lee Kang-in, “It was a disappointing game where he could not find his place.” Le Parisien also gave 4.5 points, saying, “It was not interesting when he applied pressure, and he often caught the ball only between the lines. We need to show a better performance at the front line as we did in front of the goal.” Foot Mercato gave Lee Kang-in three points, the lowest rating in the game, and said, “Lee started in the midfield. It was an opportunity to shine aggressive and display technical dominance with the ball. However, he made technical inaccurate passes one after another and did the opposite, which did not affect his defense. He also gave a huge criticism, saying that he missed the inevitable opportunity in Muani’s cross.”
Enrique’s faith was steady. He showed his faith in Lee Kang-in at the pre-Message press conference. When asked about Lee Kang-in, he said, “He must be a little unfamiliar to those who have not followed Lariga or Korea.” Enrique said, “Lee Kang-in is a very important player who can play various positions, including left and right wingers, midfielders, and No. 9. He has the best skills and defense, and he sacrifices himself for the team.” Enrique said, “It’s great to have a young player with such good qualities in the team. Moreover, he is nice, fun, and has everything in a word.”
In the end, Coach Enrique’s evaluation was right in the match against Mes. Lee Kang-in, who started at the time of the match against Mes, scored the first goal for PSG with a sharp pass. Lee Kang-in put the ball in front of the gate through a left-footed cross after a short break from the right side of the penalty box in the fourth minute of the second half, and Vitinha, who was penetrating, scored a goal by concentrating it to the end. Lee Kang-in, who continued to strive after the help, was well received after the game. Statistical media Footmob gave Lee Kang-in an 8.3 rating, which was the third highest in the team after Mbappe, who scored multiple goals, and Vitinha, who scored one goal and one assist. Sofa Score also admitted that Lee Kang-in played second only to Mbappe and Vitinha, giving Lee Kang-in a 7.7 rating. France’s L’Equipe also acknowledged his performance by giving Lee Kang-in six points following seven points of Ulmabé and Vitinha.
Later, in the Super Cup match against Toulouse, Lee Kang-in performed his best and left for the Korean national team. Lee Kang-in, who scored the winning goal during the Super Cup, performed perfectly in offense and defense, including one goal, two shots, two dribbles, two interceptions, and four ball competitions. After the game, Ligue 1’s official SNS announced that Lee Kang-in was selected as the official MOM of the game and shared a scene of receiving the trophy.
The media also received favorable reviews. The Paris fan, who reported the PSG news, gave Lee Kang-in a 6.5-point rating, saying, “I am always ready to do my best. I did not forget to defend myself, and made goals while creating chances to score a goal. However, I was disappointed in my consistency.” Global soccer media Goal Dotcom also gave Lee Kang-in seven points and said, “He calmly finished Dembele’s cross, giving him the lead three minutes after the game began. There were other opportunities, including a spectacular overhead kick, which lacked power to subdue the goalkeeper.”
However, after returning to PSG after the Asian Cup, he was rarely able to show his previous performance. Concerns over Lee Kang-in grew as he failed to rebound against Nantes, Stade Rennes, and Monaco.
Fortunately, there was a sense of crisis due to the exclusion of the starter in the match against Sociedad, but he contributed to the PSG victory by scoring help with a sharp pass. Considering the performance of this game, it is safe to say that it signaled a resurgence. Attention is expected to be drawn to whether Lee Kang-in will continue his performance in the upcoming league match against Reims.
