Koreans in Europe: Lee Kang-in assists Mbappe as PSG beat Real Sociedad to reach Champions League quarterfinals

Football

Published: 06 Mar. 2024, 08:45 Updated: 06 Mar. 2024, 17:13

Koreans in Europe: Lee Kang-in assists Mbappe as PSG beat Real Sociedad to reach Champions League quarterfinals

Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their second goal with Lee Kang-in, Ousmane Dembele and Fabian Ruiz at the Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastian, Spain on Tuesday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Paris Saint-Germain beat Real Sociedad 2-1 in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 clash on Tuesday, winning 4-1 on aggregate to advance to the quarterfinals.

Kylian Mbappe was responsible for both PSG goals at the Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, with Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in assisting the second.

Mbappe broke through early to get PSG on the scoreboard in the 15th minute, combining with Ousmane Dembélé to slot the ball past two defenders and into the back of the net.

Lee, who started on the bench and came on for Bradley Barcola in the second half, set up the second goal in the 56th minute, lofting the ball over the defense from his own half to allow Mbappe to tear up the left and cut in behind. With only goalkeeper Alex Remiro to beat, Mbappe calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner to make it 2-0.

Mikel Merino got one back for Real in the 89th minute, but with the home side already down 4-0 it offered little consolation.

Lee Kang-in of PSG in action during a UEFA Champions League round of 16 match between Real Sociedad and Paris Saint-Germain at the Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastian, Spain on Tuesday. [EPA/YONHAP]

The win carries PSG through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, where they are so far joined by Bayern Munich.

Bayern, home of Korean defender Kim Min-jae, beat Lazio 3-0 on Tuesday to turn around their round of 16 chances, having lost 1-0 in the first leg last month.

Bayern and PSG are the only two sides to qualify for the next round, with Manchester City and Copenhagen and RB Leipzig and Real Madrid set to play their round of 16 second legs on Wednesday as of press time.

Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring their first goal against Lazio at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Tuesday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The remaining round of 16 games — Porto-Arsenal, Napoli-Barcelona, Inter Milan-Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven-Borussia Dortmund — will be played next week.

PSG will be back in action this weekend as they take on Reims in Ligue 1 on Sunday. The Parisian club will play that game wearing their hangul shirts to celebrate the opening of an official PSG store in Seoul.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]