Former Man Utd star helped the Japanese team win against PSG
Kagawa sealed the victory for Cerezo Osaka in the 79th minute. Receiving the ball right outside the 16m50 area, the 2012-2013 Premier League champion midfielder with Man Utd cut his right foot into the high corner to beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Before that, the 34-year-old star entered the field to replace Tokuma Suzuki from the 46th minute.
In a friendly match in Osaka on July 27, PSG continued to miss Kylian Mbappe. The 24-year-old striker is training with the youth team in Paris, due to his refusal to renew his contract. Neymar was on the bench, but was not used by coach Luis Enrique.
PSG twice took the lead, thanks to Hugo Ekitike's cushion in the 17th minute and Vitinha's face-to-face finish in the 49th minute, but both were equalized by Cerezo Osaka. In the 22nd minute, Jordy Croux dribbled past two PSG defenders and then sank into the goal, leveling the score 1-1. After entering the field at the beginning of the second half, Sota Kitano only took 21 minutes to volley into the near corner, equalizing 2-2 for the home team.
PSG focused on attacking late in the game, but it was not effective. In contrast, in a situation of high pressing close to the 16m50 area of the French team, Cerezo Osaka suddenly scored. PSG's Cher Ndour handled it awkwardly, letting Haruki Arai steal the ball in the penalty area, then pass it back to Kagawa to finish.
Kagawa returned to Cerezo Osaka from January 2023, after more than 12 years in Europe playing for Dortmund, Man Utd, Besiktas, Zaragoza, PAOK and Sint-Truidense. In addition to winning the 2012-2013 Premier League and 2013 English Super Cup with Man Utd, the 34-year-old star also won two Bundesliga and two German Cups with Dortmund. In the Japanese shirt, Kagawa won the Asian Cup in 2011.
The loss to Cerezo Osaka was PSG's first defeat in the summer tour. Before that, Enrique's teachers and students won Le Havre 2-0 and drew Al Nassr 0-0. PSG have two friendlies left with Inter Milan on August 1 and Jeonbuk Hyundai on August 3, before starting Ligue 1 on August 12 with Lorient.
