Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) teammates have fallen in love with the in-form Lee Kang-man.
PSG defeated Montpellier 3-0 in the 11th round of the 2023-24 French Ligue 1 at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France, at 5 a.m. ET on Thursday.
With the win, PSG (24 points, 7 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss, 26 goals scored and 9 conceded) leapfrogged to the top of the league.
Head coach Luis Enrique deployed another 4-2-4 formation.
Gianluigi Donnarumma wore the goalkeeping gloves, while the defense was made up of Nordy Mukhiele, Milan Skriniar, Marquinhos, and Ashraf Hakimi.
Manuel Ugarte and Warren Zaire-Emericka were in the midfield, while Lee Kang-In, Kylian Mbappe, Leroy Sane, Randall Kolo Mouani, and Ousmane Dembele were in the attack.
Having scored his PSG debut in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) against AC Milan and providing an assist for Mbappe’s goal at Stade Brest last time out, Lee has certainly made his mark since his return, and he opened the scoring in the first 10 minutes.
Hakimi sent in a grounded cross from the right that Mbappe dummy-played back.
He collected it and wasted no time in finishing with his left foot to give South Korea the lead. Mbappe celebrated the goal with a childlike glee, even hugging Lee.
From there, Lee continued to have a huge impact, showing off his immense ball control, defensive involvement, and versatility between left and center.
At 2-0, PSG began to rotate. In the 16th minute of the second half, PSG coach Luis Enrique brought on Vitinha in place of Lee.
He was taken off after exchanging words with captain Marquinhos and Ugarte.
As soon as he came off, PSG scored more goals, all three coming from the right flank.
In the 21st minute of the second half, Dembele played a pinpoint pass to an onrushing Hakimi.
Hakimi played it to Vitinha, who quietly drove into the penalty box. Vitinha fired an exquisite shot into the square to open the scoring.
After receiving the ball in the center of the field, Mbappe unleashed a bold shot, but it was far from the goal.
At 3-0, Montpellier looked completely unfocused. They gave the ball away whenever PSG pressed.
Just before the end of the game, PSG scored the game-winning goal.
Dembele played a pinpoint pass to Mbappe, who was breaking between the lines.
Mbappe took one touch to cross the ball and Gonzalo Hamus finished.
But Mbappe was offside first. The game was over.
Lee, who played until the 17th minute of the second half before being substituted for Vitinha, had 73 touches of the ball, 100% pass completion (48 attempts, 48 successful), 1 key pass, 10 crosses (1 successful), 2 long passes (2 successful), 5 dribble attempts (3 successful), 9 ground battles (6 successful), 1 foul, and 2 tackles. Lee’s performance led PSG to a 3-0 victory.
The accolades continued. Soccer stats site Couch Score gave Lee a 7.8 rating.
It was the third highest rating after Hakimi (8.3) and Zaire-Emery (7.9).
France’s Foot Mercato also gave Lee a thumbs-up for his performance.
“Coming back from a great tour in his homeland, he once again surprised the Parc des Princes.
He scored an exquisite shot into the top left corner and was very active on the left side throughout the game.
His passing success rate was interesting,” he said, giving him a rating of 8 and naming him Man of the Match (MOM).
Ligue 1’s official social media showed a heatmap of Lee and said “Lee is everywhere”.
When asked about Lee in the post-match press conference, Enrique said, “He’s played a long time in Spain.
As you can see, he’s great.
I’ve known him since his days at Valencia and Mallorca.
It was Luis Campos who brought him to PSG.
I want to congratulate him, because he was a great signing for the club,” he said, expressing his satisfaction.
“He’s one of those players that every fan likes.
He is young and has so many qualities, desire and physical commitment in defense and attack.
He doesn’t lose the ball even when he’s under pressure.
He scores goals, as we saw tonight.
And he’s hungry.
Hunger is a really important factor in your development as a player, and he is a good player with that quality in our squad.”
“When we signed him, we didn’t know what he would do,” said Le Parisien, “but after coming in late due to injuries and national team commitments, he has been a real boost for PSG.
Together with Zaha and Emery, he is energizing the team.
His evolution is a joy to watch.
After years of not being able to showcase his talent for a variety of reasons, he’s thriving in the 4-2-4 formation.
He completed all 47 of his pass attempts and was the only player with a 100% pass completion rate.”
His teammates also gave him a thumbs-up. “Zaire-Emery is a great player,” said Shkreliar. He’s really young and so is Lee Kang-in.
He has surprised me since I arrived at PSG.”
“Mon gaaaaaaaars (my friend),” Mbappe wrote in response to Lee’s post-match social media post.
“My friend,” he said. Hakimi praised Lee by commenting with a flag emoji.
As such, Lee is being recognized by his PSG coach, his teammates, and the French media.
Real Mallorca didn’t forget about Lee’s performance.
When he scored his debut goal for PSG, Mallorca posted on their official social media, “Congratulations to Lee Kang-in on his first goal for PSG.
Mallorca was Lee’s next destination after leaving Valencia.
Lee came up through the Valencia youth system and quickly broke into the first team, but was frustrated that he wasn’t given as many opportunities as he had hoped.
In his first season with Mallorca, Lee became a regular starter.
In 30 Spanish La Liga games, he scored one goal and provided two assists.
Although he played more games and minutes than he did at Valencia, his performances were disappointing.
After a disappointing season, Lee really blossomed in 2022-23. He scored six goals and provided six assists in 36 La Liga games.
He was an irreplaceable resource for Mallorca, and his partnership with Robert Lewandowski was superb.
He was indispensable in attacking situations. Luiz de Galleta and Dani Rodriguez also played important roles in the midfield, but they were not as good as Lee.
Lee was involved all over the field, on the flanks and in the center.
Not only did he pass well, but he also had one of the best dribbling skills in the league, enabling him to break free when the opposition pressed.
His dribbling was excellent, his passes to his teammates were precise, and his ability to switch at a moment’s notice to change attacking routes was outstanding.
Lee’s presence helped Mallorca avoid relegation.
Mallorca finished the 2022-23 season in 9th place.
They understandably wanted Lee to stay, but he had his sights set higher.
After receiving interest from Atletico Madrid and the Premier League (PL), he headed to PSG.
At PSG, Lee has been even more remarkable than he was at Mallorca, and he’s definitely building momentum to reach higher.
For Mallorca, this is something to be proud of.
Meanwhile, Lee was named in the Ligue 1 best eleven in the last round.
The PSG community applauded his assist, calling it a “candy pass from Lee,” while Le Meilleur du PSG wrote: “Look at Lee’s out-front pass!” and “Lee was crucial for PSG again today”.
The official Ligue 1 social media account even summarized Lee’s performance with the word “maestro”.
Once again, the praise is pouring in. Barring any upsets, the team is expected to be named Team of the Week again this round.
