"Lee Kang-in's replacement is very active." PSG UCL Round of 16 is seen, and 3-2 against Monaco is 'Powered by PO'

*This content was translated by AI.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), France, has preoccupied the advantage of advancing to the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League (UCL).

PSG defeated AS Monaco 3-2 in the first round of the 2025-2026 UCL Round of 16 (PO) away game at Louis II Stadium in Monaco on the 18th (Korea Standard Time). With this victory, PSG will be able to advance to the round of 16 just by drawing in the second round on the 26th.

In the UCL, where 36 teams participate, the first to eighth places in the league phase will go straight to the round of 16, and the ninth to 24th places will compete for the remaining eight places to advance to the round of 16 through the round of 16 PO. PSG finished the league phase in 11th place and Monaco in 21st place, and the round of 16 PO showdowns were made through a draw.

PSG got off to a shaky start less than a minute after the start of the game, losing the first goal of the header to Folarin Balogun. In the 18th minute of the first half, he also lost an additional goal to Balogun. PSG suffered a series of bad news, including Vitinha's missed penalty kick and Usman Dembele's injury replacement out in the 26th minute of the first half.

However, Desire Due, born in 2005, who was substituted for Dembele, became PSG's "hero."

Due, who received Bradley Barcola's pass two minutes into the substitution and sparked a chase, even induced Ashraf Hakimi's equalizer in the 41st minute of the first half. Hakimi finished when the goalkeeper hit a sharp mid-range shot.

PSG, which had a numerical advantage through the opponent's exit in the third minute of the second half, completely set the tone with Due's come-from-behind winning goal in the 22nd minute of the second half. Due, who received a pass from Warren Zairemeri, shook the opponent's net with a left-footed ground ball and scored a come-from-behind goal.

PSG, which turned the game around, put in Lee Kang-in in the 24th minute of the second half. Lee Kang-in, who was placed on the right side instead of Khvitsa Kbaratshelia, showed his presence by recording three shots, including a sharp left-footed mid-range shot blocked by the goalkeeper in the 45th minute of the second half.

Lee Kang-in was at the center of the team's attack with an 88% pass success rate for about 20 minutes. The dribble was successful in all four attempts, and the long pass was also successful in both. The team took the lead in solidifying its spirit, with the winning rate of ground ball competition also recording 80% (4 out of 5 successes).

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*This content was translated by AI.