Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) drew 1-1 with Newcastle United in the fifth Group F match of the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France, at 5 a.m. on Sunday (Korea time). PSG barely lost and gained seven points to rank second. Dortmund, which beat AC Milan, ranked first in the group, PSG was second, AC Milan third, and Newcastle fourth.
PSG launched a 4-3-3 formation. Kylian Mbappe, Randal Kolo-Muani, and Usman Dembele made up the top three, while Lee Kang-in, Manuel Ugarte, and Fabian Luis made up the midfield. The back four was paired with Luca Hernandez, Danilu Pereira, Milan Shkrinier, and Ashraf Hakimi, while goalkeeper gloves were worn by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Lee Kang-in’s role was to support the attack. As Mbappe, who played as a left wing forward, moved freely, Lee continued to move back and forth between the left side and the center. It was sharp from the beginning. Lee Kang-in even blew his side and crossed while working with Mbappe, and in the fourth minute of the first half, he tried to take Dembele’s cross with his own shot, but he couldn’t make the impact properly, so he swallowed his regret.
Lee Kang-in also played a steady role as an offense and defense link. When he caught the ball in the midfield, he distributed it to the front. He also defended hard. When Newcastle attempted a quick attack in the 14th minute of the first half, Lee Kang-in even came down to the penalty box and blocked the opponent’s attack with a tackle. 토토사이트
However, PSG failed to take advantage of the opportunity continuously, allowing a run with a single hit by Newcastle. Donnarumma shot Miguel Almiron in the 24th minute of the first half, but Alexander Isaac lightly pushed the second ball to score the first goal.
PSG continued its offensive. On the day, PSG launched a flurry of attacks, with a total of 31 shots (seven on goal). Eventually, it paid off. Tino Livramento hit Dembele’s cross in extra time in the second half and was hit in the arm while he was defending. After communicating with the VAR office, the referee reviewed on-field reviews in person and declared a penalty kick (PK). Eventually, Mbappe scored an equalizer as a kicker, ending the game 1-1.
It was PSG that managed to secure one point. Lee played 82 minutes until the 37th minute of the second half before leaving the field. Lee had 94 ball touches, 93 percent pass success rate, one key pass, eight crosses (successful two times), three shots, and nine contests (successful four times).
However, Lee Kang-in often gave away ownership of the ball unlike usual on this day. Based on the soccer statistics media “Sopa Score,” Lee Kang-in handed over ownership of a total of 14 balls to the opponent. The rating was high at 7.5 points, but he was also criticized. France’s “Foot Mercato” gave him four points and said, “Lee Kang-in showed the worst performance since he came to PSG. Lee Kang-in, a hybrid player between the midfield and the attack, performed worse than usual. There was a considerable technical waste. There were quite a lot of failures in passes and crosses.”
A local reporter also questioned Lee’s play. “Lee Kang-in especially lost a lot of balls. How can I explain this?” asked Luis Enrique in an official press conference. “Players try to do everything well in high-intensity games at high quality. Newcastle has displayed their quality throughout the game. Players are human beings, not machines. They play well on some days, and not on others. I really liked their attitude and reaction. We fought very well for 98 minutes,” Enrique said, defending Lee.