Making up for lost time to finally and truly show what it’s worth. Let’s not lie to ourselves, we didn’t really know what to expect, if Kang-In Lee would be the good surprise that we had been sold or an overrated new recruit to be put in the department of too many casting errors. Late to start, since weighed down this summer by a quadriceps injury before leaving to redo his cherry in the selection, the Korean has clearly appeared in recent weeks as the announced reinforcement. As if his little friend in the middle Warren Zaire-Emery turned his energy and his audacity into a hyper-contagious virus, the Korean also went into TGV mode to energize this midfield which is increasingly enjoyable to watch evolve.
With three starts in Ligue 1 and twice two handfuls of minutes in the Champions League (10 and 19), Lee has, since his injury in mid-August, yet not had much to put in his mouth to show the the extent of his talent to the French public. A reason, perhaps which explains why, he went into overdrive. Over these last three matches, the Korean has been decisive each time. The first, ten days ago, against Milan when he opened his goal counter on a serve from Zaire-Emery. Last Sunday, again, in a 4-2-4 system, he offered a delight of an assist from the outside of the foot worthy of Angel Di Maria to Kylian Mbappé during the success obtained in Brest (2-3).
47 passes attempted, 47 passes completed
But nothing, in reality compared to the perfect copy made by the former Valencian this Friday evening against Montpellier. Lee, it is quite rare to point out, is in fact the only field player to have completed all of his passes during the match: 47 passes attempted, 47 passes completed for 73 contested balls. “Lee is a small player but can play anywhere,” smiled Luis Enrique after the match. He has personality, he is physical, he is a complete player. This is a superb signing for the club. »
Even better. This summer, while Kylian Mbappé was on duty, it was with Neymar that he seemed to be friends. His Spanish, which he has been practicing since the age of 10 and now masters better than his native language, as well as his showmanship inevitably first brought him closer to the former Barcelona native.
But on the pitch, it is now with the captain of the Blues that he gets along like a thief. On Hakimi’s cross, KMB’s feint was almost worth an assist as it allowed the Korean to find himself in an ideal position to open the scoring with a shot under the bar (10th). An ideal start to the meeting which then allowed him to display his full range, both technically and in combativeness.
