Right wing forward in the first half and “Pulse 9” in the second half. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), which used Lee Kang-in (23)’s multi-play, advanced to the round of 32 at the “Coup de France 9FA Cup” through a penalty shootout after a struggle, bringing it one step closer to winning the title for the second consecutive time.
Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) played for 66 minutes in the round of 64 of the 2024-2025 Coupe de France (FA Cup) held at Stade Bollard Delleis in Langs, France at 5 a.m. on the 23rd (Korea time), going back and forth between the right wing forward and the “Pulse Nine.” PSG won 4-3 in the penalty shootout that followed immediately after failing to set a 1-1 match in the 90 minutes of the first half.
PSG’s replacement goalkeeper Madbay Saponov’s two penalty saves earned him a ticket to the round of 32. Langs, who had an unexpected performance, was eliminated in the penalty shootout after Nzola and Diouf, the fourth and fifth kickers, missed one after another.
Lee Kang-in was replaced by Bradley Barcola in the 21st minute of the second half when the 0-0 balance continued. Lee Kang-in created one opportunity, one shot, and a 98% pass success rate (41/42) through 61 ball touches in 66 minutes.
PSG gave Abdukodir Husanov the first goal in the 22nd minute of the second half, a minute after replacing Lee Kang-in and Desiree Doue with Barcola and Gonzalo Hamus, but Hamus’ equalizer in the 25th minute of the second half balanced the score 1-1. Husanov, a 20-year-old Uzbekistan international defender, joined the attack in a corner kick situation and scored his first goal for Rance.
PSG, which is ranking first with 12 wins, four draws and no loss in the League 1, struggled due to lack of decisiveness, which failed to take advantage of critical chances despite its superiority in objective power. Rather, its defense line was penetrated one after another due to its aggressive breakthrough by the lance, and it was on the verge of losing points.
Lee Kang-in wore No. 11 instead of No. 19 in accordance with the rules of the “Coup de France” competition, in which both professional and amateur teams participate. At the Coupe de France competition, the starting players will play with No. 1 to 11. In addition, if the team cannot compete for 90 minutes until the semifinals, the winner or loser will be decided through a penalty shootout without extra time.
Lee Kang-in threatened the Lance goal in the 39th minute of the first half with a play that was close to the help of a corner kick. Marquignos, who was involved in the attack by sharply putting the right corner kick into the goal mouse, connected with a right-footed shot, but hit the crossbar. Lee Kang-in’s third help of the season was unfortunately canceled.
Starting with his first shot in the 7th minute of the first half, Lee Kang-in made a powerful left-footed shot from the right side of the penalty box in the 18th minute, creating one opportunity and one shot through 46 ball touches in the 45th minute of the first half. The shot in the 18th minute of the first half was ruled offside and erased from the shot. 안전놀이터
At the beginning of the second half, Lee Kang-in moved to “Pulse Nine (Fake No. 9)” and energized PSG’s attack. In the 50th minute of the second half, he succeeded in “decompression” through a play that turned 180 degrees even when the opposing defender was in front of him in midfield, and then added an exquisite through pass to Desiree Doue to create a scoring chance. However, as Doue failed to take advantage of the chance, Lee Kang-in’s good pass did not stand out.
PSG got off to an unfortunate start when Achraf Hakimi’s first goal was erased to the off side in the 25th minute of the first half. Hakimi shook the net by connecting a cross from the left side with his right foot, but referee Leonardo ruled it was offside. Hakimi took turns to score a goal behind the defender to protest that it was not offside, but his appeal was rejected. VAR (Video Assistant Referee) system will not be in operation until the round of 16 teams in the Coupe de France.