Hwang In-beom of Crvena zvezda celebrates after scoring against Manchester City during the clubs' Group G match at the UEFA Champions League at Stadion Rajko Mitic in Belgrade on Wednesday. (Yonhap)
South Korean national team midfielder Hwang In-beom finally has his first goal in the UEFA Champions League, though he won't get a chance to add to that total this season with his club Crvena zvezda eliminated.
Hwang scored a goal and set up another in the Serbian side's 3-2 loss to Manchester City in the teams' final Group G match of the top European club competition in Belgrade on Wednesday.
Crvena zvezda had already been eliminated from knockout contention after their 2-1 loss to RB Leipzig in their fourth group match on Nov. 7. With the closing defeat to the Premier League side, Crvena zvezda finished last in Group G with one draw and five losses.
In the group finale at Stadion Rajko Mitic, Hwang cut his team's deficit to 2-1 on 76 minutes. Man City regained their two-goal lead with a penalty by Kalvin Phillips on 85 minutes, and then Hwang assisted Aleksandar Katai's goal during stoppage time for the match's final score.
Of 32 clubs in action, Crvena zvezda were one of just three teams to fail to notch a victory in the group stage.
Hwang started every match in the group phase for his Serbian club.
The round-of-16 lineup was set with final group matches played across Europe on Wednesday, and two South Korean internationals, Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich and Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain, have advanced to the knockouts.
Bayern won Group A with 16 points from five wins and a draw, and capped their undefeated run with a 1-0 win over Manchester United on Tuesday.
PSG grabbed their knockout ticket Wednesday as Group F runners-up, after playing Borussia Dortmund to a 1-1 draw.
PSG and AC Milan both finished with eight points, but the French club won the tiebreaker, head-to-head goal difference, by +2 to -2.
One other club featuring South Korean players, Celtic FC with forwards Oh Hyeon-gyu and Yang Hyun-jun, finished in last place in Group E with four points. They salvaged their lone victory on Wednesday by beating Feyenoord 2-1 in Glasgow.
Celtic's third South Korean player, midfielder Kwon Hyeok-kyu, did not make the 25-man Champions League squad in September. (Yonhap)
MOST POPULAR