(Xinhua) – Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) most popular stars, Kylian Mbappe and Lee Kang-in, have been touted by fans as a duo that will terrorize Europe.
PSG will take on AC Milan (Italy) at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France, at 4:00 p.m. ET on June 26 in the third leg of their 2023/24 UEFA Champions League Group F matchup.
Newcastle United (England) leads the group with one win and one draw, followed by PSG in second place with one win and one draw, and Milan in third place with two wins and two draws.
PSG earned a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund (Germany) in their first group game.
After returning to the squad from injury, Lee Kang-in came on as a second-half substitute and scored the winner.
The second leg against Newcastle, played while Lee was away at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, resulted in a 1-4 defeat.
Mbappe started and played the full game, but it was a lethargic performance.
After going down by two goals in the first half, PSG conceded a third five minutes into the second half.
Luca Hernandez pulled one back, but they conceded another in stoppage time to suffer a humiliating defeat at Newcastle.
PSG will field a full-strength squad against Milan.
They can’t afford to drop any games in Group F, which is considered the group of death, if they want to advance to the round of 16.
Luis Enrique said in his pre-match press conference, “Milan play 4-3-3.
They are organized with and without the ball, and sometimes they adjust their formation with five men in defense.”
“We also have the ability to adapt to their strategy.
If they make changes, we’ll do what we’ve prepared, and if they don’t, we’ll play the way we usually do,” he said of the game plan to adapt to the opponent’s strategy.
In the team training ahead of the game, Mbappe and Lee Kang-in were caught in a ‘two-shot’.
Both players were seen staring straight ahead with a venomous glare in their eyes, and it was clear that they were going to give it their all against Milan.
“Kylian Mbappe and Lee,” PSG’s report read, along with a tricolor, flag, and camera emoji.
Fans reacted with enthusiasm.
“This duo will terrorize Europe,” one fan wrote on PSG Report’s post with the photo, along with a red and blue heart emoji in PSG’s colors.
It’s clear that there are high hopes for Mbappe and Lee on the local scene.
When Lee joined PSG this summer, he struggled to settle in due to early injuries.
He missed the entire preseason, and after starting in the league opener and second leg, he was sidelined again.
He spent about three weeks rehabbing from late August until the game against Dortmund, then took another three weeks off to participate in the Asian Games.
After winning a gold medal at the Asian Games and being exempted from military service, Lee returned home and started the game against Strasbourg, playing full time for the first time and helping the team to a 3-0 win.
Although his statistical media ratings were the lowest in the team, foreign media such as Spain Sport said, “Enrique has revolutionized the team, completely changing what they looked like before the A-match break.
PSG overwhelmed Strasbourg and won the game with some unexpected protagonists who shone in their own right and stole all the limelight,” said Spain’s Sport, which praised PSG’s performance.
“Enrique has transformed the team with the introduction of Lee Kang-In, Fabian Luis and Carlos Soler in midfield and the changes made with Mbappe have been successfully tested ahead of the big Champions League match against Milan,” he said, adding that Lee Kang-In has helped change the game.
Lee was fired up ahead of the game.
Speaking to the club’s media, he said, “The Champions League is a stage where every player wants to play, not just me.
It’s an important competition for me and for the team. We will prepare well and try to win.”
Mbappe is PSG’s biggest superstar to date.
He joined PSG from AS Monaco in 2017.
He joined on a season-long loan to avoid Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations before making the move on a permanent basis.
With a transfer fee of €180 million, PSG had high hopes for Mbappe.
As expected, Mbappe quickly established himself as a PSG star. 바카라사이트
He formed a fantastic partnership with Neymar, who arrived from Barcelona around the same time.
Even when Neymar was sidelined for long periods of time due to injury, Mbappe remained steadfast and led the team’s attack.
In his six seasons at PSG, Mbappe became the club’s all-time leading goalscorer and was the league’s top scorer for five consecutive seasons from 2018/19 to last season.
He also won 14 trophies with the club, including five league titles and three Coupe de France.
It’s safe to say they’re PSG’s living legends.
The two players are often ranked first and second in the club’s popularity rankings.
Recently, it was reported that Lee overtook Mbappe to become the club’s number one jersey seller.
According to Le Parisien, Lee has surpassed Mbappe as the number one jersey seller on the official online store.
Mbappe is reportedly the top seller in physical stores and the club’s official store, with Lee in second place.
This shows that Mbappe and Lee are incredibly popular.
This combination of Mbappe and Lee is one that many fans are looking forward to seeing.
So far, Lee hasn’t had much time to work with Mbappe as he hasn’t been given many chances, but we could see them share a goal together against Milan and beyond.