adminParis Saint-Germain (PSG) laughed off Jeonbuk in a friendly, with Neymar “Walc” Neymar involved in all three goals and Lee Kang-in making a brief appearance in the second half.
PSG won 3-0 in the third leg of the Coupang Play series at Busan Asiad Stadium on Wednesday at 5 p.m. thanks to back-to-back goals from Neymar in the 40th and 38th minutes and Marco Asensio’s wedge in the 43rd minute. Neymar, who scored two goals against Ventojo at home with the Brazilian national team in June 2022, scored a multi-goal performance in a PSG jersey this time around. Neymar also put on a spectacular display, drawing roars from the 43,520 fans in attendance. Lee Kang-in, who is recovering from a thigh injury, came on as a 22nd-minute substitute in the second half and played just over 20 minutes.
PSG head coach Luis Enrique started Neymar up front. Neymar played on the left wing in a 4-3-3 formation, forming a trio with Ismael Gabi and N’Golo Kante. Marco Verratti, Serge N’Dour, and Ethan Mbappe formed the midfield, while Danilo Pereira, Rabin Kurzawa, Serif N’Hagar, and Juan Bernat formed the back four. Gianluigi Donnarumma was in goal. Compared to the friendly against Inter Milan on the first day, the lineup changed drastically. It featured a lot of new faces. Lee Kang-in was one of the substitutes. He was expected to come on in the second half, as Enrique had announced in his pre-match press conference.
Jeonbuk coach Dan Petrescu, a former Chelsea player, deployed ‘newcomer’ Park Jae-yong and Hapa Silva on the flanks with Moon Sun-min and Han Gyo-won. Nana Boateng and Ryu Jae-moon occupied the midfield. Last summer’s signings Ahn Hyun-beom, Hong Jeong-ho Petrasek, and Park Chang-woo formed the back four, with Jeong Min-ki in goal. Baek Seung-ho, Song Min-kyu, Lee Dong-joon, Park Jin-seop, Jung Tae-wook, Amano Jun, and Gustavo started on the bench. Coach Petrescu announced that he would play two teams of 45 minutes each in the first and second halves.
To summarize the first 45 minutes, it was Neymar. Returning to action after nearly half a year out with an ankle injury, Neymar brought the crowd to its feet with a spectacular heel pass in the fourth minute. In the ninth minute, he used his unique footwork to beat the defense with the balls of his feet. In the 19th minute, he exchanged one-on-one passes with Ekitiqe and got into the box before colliding with Petrasek and going down, but the referee didn’t call a foul. 꽁머니
The tempo of the game slowed significantly in the 20th minute. This was likely due to the sweltering temperatures, which reached 34 degrees. In the 26th minute, a cooling break was called. Neymar came out rehydrated and was terrifying. In the 37th minute, he threatened the goal with a bold left-footed shot, which Jeonbuk goalkeeper Jung Min-ki managed to tip over the bar. But he didn’t miss his second chance. In the 40th minute, Neymar picked up the ball on the left diagonal inside the box and used a clever heel fake to take away the tempo of marksman Han Gyo-won before attempting a right-footed shot. The ball left Neymar’s foot and deflected off the leg of Hong Jung-ho and into the goal. Jeonbuk had a couple of clever dribbles from Moon Sun-min, but they were unable to capitalize on their offense. The first half ended with PSG leading by one goal.
Jeonbuk makes 11 changes at halftime