The five-title dream of Lee Kang-in (24) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has been dashed. Chelsea defeated the 'European champions' PSG to take the top spot.
On the 14th (Korean time), Chelsea claimed a 3-0 decisive victory over PSG in the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, USA.
With this, Chelsea has risen to its second title following the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) for the 2024-2025 season. Chelsea, the inaugural champion of the revamped Club World Cup, dismantled PSG, which they had previously overpowered 5-0 in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) final against Inter Milan.
The Club World Cup has been held annually until now, but from this tournament, it will be changed to a four-year cycle, similar to the World Cup. The number of participating teams has also changed to 32. The prize money has significantly increased to a total of $1 billion (about 1.3782 trillion won).
Thanks to this, Chelsea will pocket a jackpot of £92 million (about 171.1 billion won) including the championship prize. For Chelsea, which had already invested €244 million (about 399.3 billion won) this summer by acquiring Jamie Gittens, João Pedro, Liam Delap, Esteban, Dario Isugu, Mamadou Sarr, and Kendry Páez, this is indeed a windfall.
Chelsea, led by manager Enzo Maresca, started with a 4-2-3-1 formation. The starting lineup included João Pedro, Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernández, Cole Palmer, Moisés Caicedo, Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Trevo Chalobah, Malo Gusto, and Roberto Sánchez.
PSG, managed by Luis Enrique, deployed a 4-3-3 formation. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé, and Désiré Doué started at the front, while Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, and João Neves formed the midfield, with Nuno Mendes, Lucas Veríssimo, Marquinhos, and Achraf Hakimi in defense, and Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal.
Chelsea took the lead with an early goal. In the 22nd minute of the first half, Gusto capitalized on a mistake by the PSG defense, surged into the space behind them, took a touch, and shot. He then recovered the ball after it deflected off the defense and played it sideways, which Palmer connected with an accurate shot that pierced the corner of the goal.
Chelsea quickly expanded their lead to three goals. In the 30th minute of the first half, Palmer scored again on a counterattack, marking his second goal. Then, in the 43rd minute, Palmer skillfully pierced a pass through the defense after rapidly advancing the ball from behind the halfway line to near the box, which Pedro calmly finished to find the net. The first half ended with Chelsea leading 3-0.
PSG, feeling the pressure, began to counterattack. However, they could not get past Sánchez's save. Both a shot from Khvicha in the 3rd minute and a shot from Dembélé in the 7th minute were blocked by the goalkeeper.
PSG was the first to play a substitution card, bringing on Bradley Barcola for Khvicha in the 58th minute. Chelsea substituted Enzo, who went down with an injury, for Andrey Santos in the 61st minute. Six minutes later, they replaced Pedro with Liam Delap.
Chelsea continued to fend off PSG’s attacks with solid defense. An increasingly anxious manager Enrique played all three substitution cards at once in the 73rd minute. He substituted Hakimi, Doué, and Ruiz, bringing in Gonzalo Hamus, Seni Mayulu, and Warren Zaïre-Emery to make changes in the front line.
However, Chelsea's goal remained intact. Instead, PSG's Neves received a red card in the 86th minute for an unsportsmanlike act of pulling Cucurella's hair after colliding with him. The referee initially showed a yellow card but announced the ejection after a video review. Ultimately, the match concluded with Chelsea’s victory.
Lee Kang-in remained on the bench until the end. While manager Enrique actively used his substitution cards, he did not provide an opportunity for Lee. He seemed to show more trust in Mayulu, born in 2006.
This is a clear example of Lee Kang-in's position within PSG. Although PSG has won the Trophée des Champions, Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and UCL this season, Lee has mostly missed the finals. His only appearance was in the Trophée des Champions final, where he played for 67 minutes.
In this Club World Cup, Lee was unable to start even once. He played as a substitute in the first group stage match against Atlético Madrid, scoring a penalty and tasting a goal for the first time in seven months, but did not make any notable contributions afterward. He played 11 minutes against Botafogo, 20 minutes against Inter Miami, and 11 minutes against Real Madrid but missed the final.
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