With their South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in remaining on the bench, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have dropped their opening leg of the semifinals at the UEFA Champions League against Borussia Dortmund.
Niclas Fullkrug’s 36th-minute goal was the difference in the German club’s win over the French champions at BVB Stadion Dortmund in Dortmund, Germany, on Wednesday (local time).
PSG coach Luis Enrique made two substitutions on defense and up front, while keeping Lee on the bench.
PSG, looking to win the top European club title for the first time, will host the return leg next Tuesday in Paris. Lee, who joined PSG last summer, will look to become the fifth South Korean to appear in the semifinals at the UEFA Champions League and join Lee Young-pyo with PSV Eindhoven in 2005, Park Ji-sung with Manchester United in 2011, Son Heung-min with Tottenham Hotspur in 2019 and Kim Min-jae with Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
PSG and Dortmund also faced each other in Group F, with PSG beating Dortmund 2-0 on Sept. 19 last year before they ended in a 1-1 draw on Dec. 13. Dortmund won the group with 11 points, three ahead of the runner-up PSG.
PSG recently clinched their third consecutive French Ligue 1 title with three matches to spare, while Dortmund are sitting in fifth place in Germany’s Bundesliga.
PSG are still in position to lift four trophies this season. Before the Ligue 1 championship, PSG won the Trophee des Champions, the annual French super cup competition between the Ligue 1 winner and the Coupe de France winner.
PSG have also reached the Coupe de France final and will face Olympique Lyonnais on May 25.
The first Korean duel in the Champions League final is still in play, with Bayern having taken a 2-2 draw against Real Madrid in their opening leg at home. But Kim, who had already been losing playing time, may not see much action the rest of the way after making two glaring mistakes that led to both of Real Madrid’s goals in the first leg.
Afterward, Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel slammed Kim for being “too greedy.” Kim couldn’t keep up with Vinicius Jr. after making the first move and allowing the Brazilian forward to exploit the open space in the back. Kim later conceded a penalty with a foul on Rodrygo, and Vinicius converted the chance to equalize for the Spanish side.