Lee Kang-in and Kylian Mbappe found the net in the first half as Paris Saint-Germain secured the initial silverware of the French season on Wednesday, defeating Toulouse 2-0 to seize the Champions Trophy.
Lee, in his final match before joining the South Korean squad for the Asian Cup in Qatar, gave PSG the lead in the third minute, setting Toulouse up for a challenging task at the Parc des Princes.
Mbappe then contributed a magnificent second goal just before halftime, enabling Paris to clinch the Champions Trophy for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons.
"We were outstanding in the first half. It was the best 45 minutes of my time here," said PSG coach Luis Enrique, celebrating his first coaching trophy since departing Barcelona in 2017.
The French equivalent of the Super Cup traditionally serves as the season's opening event and has been held abroad for the past 15 years, including Tel Aviv at the start of the last campaign.
Initially scheduled for August in Thailand, this season's edition was postponed and held at PSG's home ground instead of on neutral turf.
The home advantage provided Luis Enrique's team, the reigning Ligue 1 champions, with an advantage as they scored early in the game. Lee fired in a shot from Ousmane Dembele's first-time ball into the middle.
It marked Lee's third goal of the season, and he is expected to play a crucial role as South Korea seeks to win the Asian Cup for the first time since 1960.
Toulouse, participating as the winners of last season's French Cup, came close to equalizing late in the first half when a Thijs Dallinga shot was tipped onto the post by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
However, PSG extended their lead just before halftime as Mbappe, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, collected a pass from Bradley Barcola and scored a superb goal—his 22nd in all competitions this season.
Achraf Hakimi struck the post from a second-half free-kick as Toulouse managed to avoid conceding further goals. PSG introduced Lucas Beraldo for his debut after the young Brazilian defender's arrival from Sao Paulo, replacing the injured Milan Skriniar.
Luis Enrique commented on Skriniar's injury, stating, "It is nothing minor, so we will wait and see what the tests show, but I am sure he will be out of our coming games."
Hakimi now heads to the Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco, a favorite in the competition taking place in the Ivory Coast. The AFCON final is scheduled for February 11, while the Asian Cup final is a day earlier. Consequently, if Hakimi and Lee progress far in their respective competitions, they will not return to PSG until just before the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Real Sociedad on February 14.
