Like Son Heung-min, He Made his UCL Debut at the Age of 22
Like Son Heung-min, He Made his UCL Debut at the Age of 22… Lee Kang-in Era Begins
PSG Lee Kang-in explodes with a 3-0 net against AC Milan, first UCL goal in 22 years and 8 months... Just 5 months later than Son Heung-min
The ‘Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) era’ is opening in Korean soccer.
Lee Kang-in attended the 2023-2024 season UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG, France) and AC Milan (Italy) held at Parc des Princes in Paris, France on the 26th (Korean time).
Madgeorgi scored in PSG's 3-0 win. 카지노
When Gonzalo Hamus missed Warren Jair Emery's cutback, Lee Kang-in near the penalty arc fired a left-footed ground ball into the bottom right corner of the goal.
It was Lee Kang-in's PSG debut goal and the first goal of his career on the UCL stage.
Lee Kang-in, who hit the net, hugged his teammates and fully enjoyed the joy of scoring his debut goal.
It was a goal of great significance to Korean soccer.
Lee Kang-in stands alongside Son Heung-min (Tottenham) as the only two Korean players to score his debut goal in the UCL finals at the age of 22.
Son Heung-min set the record for the youngest Korean UCL debut goal against Benfica (Portugal) on October 1, 2014 while playing for Leverkusen.
At the time, Son Heung-min was exactly 22 years and 3 months old.
On this day, nearly 10 years later, Lee Kang-in recorded a record that came close to Son Heung-min.
Calculating Lee Kang-in's age based on the 25th, local time when the game was held, he is 22 years, 8 months, and 13 days.
He is only about 5 months behind Son Heung-min.
Moreover, unlike Son Heung-min, a professional goaltender, Lee Kang-in is a midfielder who focuses on developing attacks.
In September 2019, while playing for Valencia, Lee Kang-in attracted great attention by making his UCL debut at the age of 18 years and 6 months, the youngest Korean player to do so.
Lee Kang-in, who has grown steadily since then, has become a member of PSG, the strongest team in France, and is rapidly growing his position in the national team.
Lee Kang-in, who played a big role in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, led the attack with 3 goals and 1 assist, including his A match debut goal, in the two-game friendly match against Tunisia and Vietnam this month.
He appears to be quickly establishing himself as the ace of Korean soccer, following in the footsteps of Son Heung-min, by scoring his debut goals one after another for both his national team and his team.
Son Heung-min, who watched from the bench and hugged Lee Kang-in, who came in as a substitute in the Vietnam game, left a comment saying, "It got to the point where I thought it might be okay without me."
PSG, which is going through a 'transitional period', is also smiling brightly at Lee Kang-in's debut goal.
PSG said goodbye to Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) at the end of last season and sent Neymar (Al Hilal) to Saudi Arabia.
There are widespread rumors that Kylian Mbappe, who had a conflict with the club at the beginning of the season, will also transfer at the end of this season.
Coach Luis Enrique, who took the helm this season, must be contemplating how to organize the offensive line going forward.
In this situation, Lee Kang-in scored a goal and gave coach Enrique 'happy troubles'.
Meanwhile, soccer statistics site Footmob gave Lee Kang-in a high rating of 7.6 points.
Although he only played about 20 minutes as a substitute, he received the fourth highest rating among PSG field players on the day.
Lee Kang-in showed a 93% pass success rate.
He attempted 15 passes, sending 14 of them to his teammates as intended.
