The French media has criticized Luis Enrique’s decision to play Lee Kang-jin on the wing.
French media outlet Le Parisien pointed to PSG’s lackluster performances on Monday (Nov. 21) and argued that Lee should be deployed in midfield for a creative role in assembling an attack.
PSG have yet to win a game since the start of the 2023/24 Ligue 1 season. PSG, under new coach Luis Enrique, were held to a 1-1 draw by Toulouse in their Ligue 2 second-leg tie at the Stade de Toulouse on Tuesday. Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 17th minute, but conceded a 43rd-minute equalizer from the penalty spot to counterpart Zakaria Aboukrall.
Lee Kang-in started on the left side of the defense for the match, as he did in the opening round against Lorient. Fabian Luis, Manuel Ugarte, and Warren Zaire-Emery started in the middle.
Lee opened the scoring in the 12th minute when he linked up with Gonzalo Hamus to break down the Toulouse defense and play a short pass to Ugarte at the front of the box. Ugarte’s cross to the far post was aimed at Hakimi’s head, but it was a little too far out of reach for him to get a shot off.
Lee Kang-in tried to open up the attack with a cross utilizing a long-in kick. In the 17th minute, a transition pass from Vitinha gave Lee the ball in a relatively wide-open area, and instead of dribbling, he attempted a sharp left-footed cross to Hamus inside the penalty box, which was unfortunately blocked by the defense.
In the 23rd minute, Lee Kang-in, the designated kicker, nearly found the head of Shkryniar on a corner kick, but his cross was blocked by a defender. From the resulting corner, the onrushing Zaire-Emery and the defenders overlapped and the ball went the other way.
While PSG’s attack was stifled, Lee was threatening with strong forward pressure, taking possession away from the Toulouse defense in the attacking third. In the 34th minute, Lee won the ball in front of the Toulouse penalty box, and after a short dribble, he attempted a pass into the penalty box, but his teammates in front of the goal were unable to collect it.
Lee continued to try to break up the frustrating offense with shots in the final minutes of the first half. In the 44th minute, Lee received the ball on the right side of the penalty box and wasted no time in firing a left-footed shot that unfortunately hit the side netting. He was eventually replaced by Kylian Mbappe six minutes into the second half.
Lee left the field after a relatively short 51 minutes with a red card. Lee showed flashes of brilliance in attack, completing 79% of his passes (15/19), creating two chances, one shot, and winning two ball competitions.
However, as this was his first appearance on the left wing since joining PSG in both preseason and the regular season, he looked awkward in positioning and movement, sometimes mismatching the timing and movement of his passes with his partner on the left, Fabian Luis, and disrupting the flow of the attack.
“Enrique and the coaching staff want him to be the playmaker of PSG’s game,” the media reported, “and to achieve this, he needs to be positioned between the left and the center to create creative scenes.” The space between the left and the center is a 4-3-3.
The space between the left and center refers to the left central midfielder’s position in a 4-3-3 formation. Often described as a “mezzanine” position and role, it is one of the most popular in modern soccer for midfielders with primarily offensive talent. It’s the perfect spot for Lee to have a lot of space and vision to make accurate passes or direct box-to-box attacks. 스포츠토토
It’s difficult for him to play on the left wing as he is currently utilized. Without a target man like Bedat Murtiti like he had at Mallorca, he needs to be able to provide accurate passes down the middle to capitalize on the aggression of Hammers, Mbappe, and Ousmane Dembele.