He joins Lionel Messi as the next top scorer. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) midfielder Lee Kang-in, 22, scored in his first game of the new year. He led his team to their first win since joining the club and was the man of the match.
Lee scored the opening goal and led the attack in PSG’s 2-0 win over Toulouse in the 2023 Trophée des Champions (French Super Cup) final at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France, on Jan. 4. In the third minute, after receiving a penetrating pass from a teammate down the left flank, he calmly cut back and met Ousmane Dembele’s grounded cross with his left foot to find the back of the net. Kylian Mbappe added an insurance goal in the 44th minute to give PSG the lead, and they held on for the win. Lee Kang-in, who scored the winning goal and led the PSG offense, was named Man of the Match.
The Trophée des Champions is a “supercup” that pits the winner of the French Ligue 1 against the winner of the Coupe de France (French Cup). PSG are the 2022-23 Ligue 1 champions and Toulouse are the 2022-23 French Cup winners. PSG won a record 12th title in the competition, which began in 1995. It’s a historic and prestigious tournament, and Lee was recognized as its most decorated player.
After the match, the French Ligue 1 secretariat posted a picture of Lee Kang-in holding the trophy on its official social media and wrote, “A new nationality has been added to the list of the French Super Cup’s Most Valuable Players. They posted the national flags of the previous MVP players as emojis and added the emoji ‘NEW’ next to the flag. The previous MVPs were from nine different countries. South Korea becomes the 10th country.
The history of the Trophée des Champions MVP is colorful. The previous winners were Lionel Messi, the “God of Soccer,” in 2021, Lee’s PSG teammate Mbappe, in 2016-2018, Argentina international forward Di Maria, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2014.
Speaking to local media after the game, Lee said: “We had the ambition to lift the trophy. I always try to help the team and work hard for it,” he said. “It helps a lot to play with the best players in the world,” he added, “I try to learn from them and I’m very happy to be in this team.”
Lee joined the national team on Friday for the Asian Cup in Qatar, which kicks off on Dec. 12, after a good showing at the Trophée des Champions.
