Lee Kang-in, right, celebrates with Arnaud Tenas after Paris Saint-Germain’s win over Le Havre at Stade Oceane in Le Havre, France on Sunday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
Paris Saint-Germain beat Le Havre 2-0 away on Sunday, with Lee Kang-in playing the full 90 minutes as the Parisians won the Korean title for the day.
Playing in shirts with players’ names in Hangeul on the back, Paris Saint-Germain scored a goal in each half despite being reduced to 10 men when goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saw red for a dangerous challenge in the 10th minute of the game.
Kylian Mbappe scored the first goal in the 23rd minute after an attack that began with Lee taking possession of the ball in the midfield. Vitinha added another goal in the 89th minute to seal a 2-0 win.
He told me after the match: “It was a difficult match for us, but there were positives. He added: “We were strong in defense, did not concede any goals and came out with the win. It was a very good job from the team. We are very happy.”
![Paris Saint-Germain Lee Kang-in shirt in Hangul [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2023/12/04/3f25f309-d53a-4ba5-be7a-7f055074da10.jpg)
Paris Saint-Germain Lee Kang-in shirt in Hangul [SCREEN CAPTURE]
But the real star of the show, at least for the club’s Korean fans, were the Hangul shirts.
According to the club, the decision to play with the Korean kit came in recognition of the growing number of Korean PSG fans. The club also held a viewing party for Sunday’s match in Seoul, in cooperation with its local partners here.
Paris Saint-Germain is not the first team in the French League to play in Hangul shirts. Bordeaux, which was then a Ligue 1 club, played in Korean-language shirts in 2020 when Norwich City striker Hwang Ui-joo was a star player.
Paris Saint-Germain have also put their Hangeul kits up for sale, with Mbappé’s Korean-language shirt sitting at the top of the ‘best-selling’ list on the club’s website as of publishing time on Monday.
![Paris Saint-Germain Kylian Mbappé shirt [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2023/12/04/30e24ea4-ea11-4b71-9223-99e6e7a3bb7b.jpg)
Paris Saint-Germain Kylian Mbappé shirt [SCREEN CAPTURE]
No Korean version of Lee’s shirt was listed on the website as of press time, likely indicating that it has already been sold out.
Paris Saint-Germain will return to competition next Saturday when it faces Nantes at home in Paris in the French League, before heading to Germany to play a Champions League match with Dortmund the following Wednesday.
Written by Jim Pauley [[email protected]]
