Lee Kang-in reached the final of the war of the stars, but it is hard to rejoice.
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) defeated Arsenal 2-1 in the second leg of the European Champions League (UCL) semifinals of the 2024-2025 season at Parc des Princes in Paris, France. PSG won the UCL final for the first time in five years since the 2019-2020 season with a 3-1 aggregate score.
Lee Kang-in, who has not been able to play in the UCL recently, also started on the bench in this game. PSG almost lost a point to Gabriel Martinelli in the fourth minute of the first half, but Gianluigi Donnarumma's fantastic save saved the crisis. Donnarumma also showed off his excellent defense by blocking Martin Odegaard's shot in the eighth minute of the first half.
PSG began to change the atmosphere in the 18th minute of the first half when Hvitsa's shot hit the post. PSG scored the first goal in the 27th minute with Fabien Ruiz's fantastic shot from a free kick. PSG bombed Arsenal. In the 30th minute of the first half, Barcola missed the perfect one-on-one opportunity on the counterattack.
In the second half, PSG did not allow an equalizer as Donnarumma's good defense continued. PSG scored a penalty in the 20th minute of the second half, but Vitinha's shot was blocked by David Raya. PSG led 2-0 in the 26th minute of the second half when Ashraf Hakimi appeared in the thin ice match.Arsenal aimed for a miracle when Saka's chasing goal came out in the 31st minute of the second half, but there was too little time left.
PSG advanced to the UCL final for the second time in the club's history, defeating Premier League powerhouses Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal. Lee Kang-in became the third Korean to reach the UCL final after Park Ji-sung and Son Heung-min.
Lee Kang-in was very happy with his teammates after the game, but he is very likely not to play in the final. Unfortunately, Lee Kang-in has not been selected by PSG coach Luis Enrique since the round of 16 of the UCL. After entering the round of 16, Lee Kang-in appeared in the UCL in overtime of the second round of the round of 16 against Liverpool.
Putting Lee Kang-in in overtime cannot erase the feeling that he was forced to replace other players due to their lack of physical strength. This is because Lee Kang-in has been thoroughly excluded from the UCL since the replacement against Liverpool. In the quarterfinals against Aston Villa, he did not play a second in both games.
In the league, which has already confirmed the championship, Lee Kang-in was used to manage the physical strength of the main players. Since the match against Arsenal was confirmed, Lee Kang-in's participation in the UCL has been very unclear. As expected, Coach Enrique also put Lee Kang-in on the bench in the semifinals against Arsenal and did not put him on the field. He turned away Lee Kang-in even though he had a three-goal margin as Hakimi scored again today. In other words, there is no Lee Kang-in in PSG's winning plan that Enrique is currently envisioning.
In the future, it will be difficult to expect Lee Kang-in in the final unless PSG is an injured variable until the UCL final against Inter Milan. Inter Milan, which has such a strong defensive organization, needs players who can shake it aggressively from the side.
Coldly, it is difficult to expect Lee Kang-in to show as much destructive power as Desiree Dué or Khvicha Kravatshelia. Coach Enrique is putting Bredley Barcola first when replacing Duena Hvicha, and when he wants to change his offensive tactics, he is adding Gonzalo Hamus to change the players' positions.
Even in the midfield, coach Enrique's trust in João Neves and Fabien Ruiz is not expected to be dampened. Neves, Ruiz, and Vitinha rarely replace them, and even if they do, they tend to put Warren Zaire Emery in the UCL rather than Lee Kang-in. Everyone wants Lee Kang-in to become the third player in Korean soccer history to reach the UCL final, but the reality is dark.
Of course, Lee Kang-in will also be unhappy with the current situation. Recently, leading French media L'Equipe reported that Lee Kang-in wants to play more, but he has not expressed any particular dissatisfaction with the team winning. He is in a general situation where he remains true to his training even if he has fewer appearances and wants opportunities in major games, he has reported. L'Equipe added that Lee Kang-in and PSG will talk about their future after the season ends.
Meanwhile, Lee Kang-in has recently deleted from his personal SNS profile that he belongs to PSG, further fueling rumors of a transfer.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
