Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)'s Lee Kang-in (25, PSG) and Bayern Munich's Kim Min-jae (30, Bayern Munich) will face each other in the Champions League semifinals.
PSG beat Liverpool 2-0 in the second leg of the 2025-2026 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals at Anfield in Liverpool, England, on the 15th (Korean time). Having also won the first-leg home match 2-0, Paris Saint-Germain secured a 4-0 aggregate victory to advance to the semifinals for the second consecutive year.
Liverpool pressed from the start, but PSG were the first to score. In the 27th minute of the second half, Ousmane Dembélé received a pass from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and curled a left-footed shot from outside the box into the net. In stoppage time, Dembélé finished again from Bradley Barcola's pass to seal the result.
Lee Kang-in was named on the substitutes list but did not get onto the pitch. He came on as a second-half substitute in the first leg to help secure the win, but on this occasion he watched his team's progress to the semifinals from the bench.
Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 4-3 in the second leg of the quarterfinals at the Fußball-Arena München in Munich, Germany, on the 16th. After a 2-1 first-leg win, the aggregate score was 6-4. Bayern Munich also claimed a place in the semifinals.
The match was, quite literally, a goal fest. Bayern conceded to Arda Güler just 35 seconds after kickoff but quickly answered with an equalizer from Aleksandar Pavlović. What followed were Güler's free-kick goal, Harry Kane's equalizer, and Kylian Mbappé's additional goal, producing five goals in the first half alone.
Bayern were the side to decide the outcome. In the 44th minute of the second half, Luis Díaz scored the winning goal, and in stoppage time Michael Olise added a sealing goal.
Kim Min-jae also remained on the bench that day. With his playing time reduced amid recent competition for starting places, he was not selected even for this important match.
With this, the Champions League semifinals are set as Lee Kang-in's PSG versus Kim Min-jae's Bayern Munich. Although the two players representing Korean football will share the same stage, judging by current form it is hard to say either has clearly won the battle for a starting spot.
Lee Kang-in appeared as a substitute in the first leg of the quarterfinals and missed the second leg. Kim Min-jae watched both matches against Real from the bench. Attention is on whether the situation will change in the semifinals. Given the tight schedule and opponents' tactics, both players could well be used as substitutes or rotation options.
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