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PSG beat Monaco to win Trophee des Champions

Published: 06 Jan. 2025, 11:14 Updated: 06 Jan. 2025, 16:00

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

Paris Saint-Germain celebrate winning the Trophee des Champions at Doha's Stadium 974 in Qatar on Jan. 5. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in won his fourth title with Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday after the Ligue 1 champions beat AS Monaco 1-0 in the Trophee des Champions final at Doha's Stadium 974 in Qatar.

Lee started as a right winger and set his teammates up with key passes and also attempted to finish the job himself, but did not make a goal contribution and came off in the 67th minute.

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in reacts during the Trophee des Champions final against AS Monaco at Doha's Stadium 974 in Qatar on Jan. 5. [AFP/YONHAP]

Ousmane Dembele broke the deadlock in the 92nd minute of the match. It was a low scoring affair despite significant pressure at both ends of the pitch — by the end of the game, PSG had attempted 28 shots and Monaco had recorded 12.

Sunday’s title extends PSG’s dominance in the Trophee des Champions to a record 13 wins. The Trophee des Champions is the French super cup played between the reigning Ligue 1 winners and Coupe de France holders. It is the French equivalent of England’s Community Shield.

This year, as PSG won both the Ligue 1 title and Coupe de France last year, Monaco qualify for the trophy match as the Ligue 1 runner-up.

The victory marks Lee’s second Trophee des Champions trophy and fourth title at PSG, where he has also won the Ligue 1 and French Cup.

Since joining PSG ahead of the 2023-24 season, Lee has been a regular pick and played as a winger or attacking midfielder. He has seen a smooth start this season with six goals and two assists across 16 league appearances.

Sunday’s victory comes in the middle of a busy schedule for PSG, who have league action to catch up on as well as the French Cup and Champions League runs.

PSG are due to play in the round of 32 of the French Cup against Espaly later this month and have two more league stage games in the Champions League.

The Ligue 1 champions, sitting in the elimination zone at 25th as of Monday, need to win two Champions League fixtures to be in with a chance of reaching the round of 16.

In the revamped Champions League where 36 teams compete in the league stage, top eight teams directly reach the knockout stage, while teams ranked ninth to 24th enter playoffs to determine which sides join the last 16 and teams below 24th exit the tournament.

Over in the domestic league, PSG have seen a contrastingly better run, with the team seven points clear at the top of the table with their unbeaten streak, during which the club has secured 12 wins and four draws. PSG are the only club without a loss in Europe’s top five leagues.

The defending champions have also demonstrated an attacking prowess with 44 goals in 16 league games despite the absence of Kylian Mbappe, the 2023-24 Ligue 1 top scorer, who left to join Real Madrid last summer.

Bradely Barcola has led the attack with the most goals for PSG at 10 in 16 league matches, followed by eight from Dembele in 15 league appearances. Lee is the third on the list at six.

The Ligue 1 champions will return to action with a match against St-Etienne on Jan. 12.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]