"Lee Kang-in's fatal turnover... provides opportunity for Liverpool's equalizer" Spanish media gives rare scathing criticism with a rating of 4

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Kang-in (25) started in his team's first match of the new UEFA Champions League (UCL) season but received harsh criticism from local media and a bottom-tier rating after a poor performance that included a fatal turnover leading to an equalizer.

Lee Kang-in's club, Atletico Madrid, suffered a 1-2 comeback defeat in their away match against Liverpool at Anfield in Liverpool, UK, on the 10th (Korean time) in the 2026–2027 UCL League Phase matchday 1.

On this day, Lee Kang-in started alongside Julian Alvarez in a 4-4-2 attacking formation and played approximately 59 minutes until the 14th minute of the second half.

However, Lee Kang-in could not escape harsh evaluation in the match against Liverpool. The Spanish media outlet 'El Desmarque' released player ratings and evaluations for the Liverpool match, giving Lee Kang-in a failing grade-level rating of 4 points.

The media stated regarding Lee Kang-in: "Like most players, he shone briefly at the start of the match but gradually lost influence," adding that "while his involvement in attack was delicate, it became less visible as time passed, and especially, he committed a fatal error by losing possession in his own half, which led to Liverpool's first equalizer."

'El Desmarque' gave failing grades to no fewer than six Atletico players on this day, strongly criticizing the comeback defeat against Liverpool. Alejandro Grimaldo, who struggled immediately after being substituted in and committed a series of fatal errors, received the team's lowest rating of 2 points, while Julian Simeone, who was powerless throughout the attack for all 90 minutes, managed only 3 points.

Alex Baena, who lost influence in midfield alongside Lee Kang-in, Ademola Lookman, who came on as a substitute, and Jonathan David, who made his debut, also could not escape scathing criticism with consecutive ratings of 4 points. Koke and Pablo Barrios, who collapsed physically in the second half, remained at a rating of 5 points.

In contrast, Marcos Llorente, who scored his fifth career goal at Anfield and fought hard, received a rating of 8 points and was named the match's Most Valuable Player (MVP). Goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who prevented heavy scoring with consecutive brilliant saves, received 7 points, while Alvarez, who assisted the opening goal, and defenders Marc Pubill, Cristian Romero, and David Hancko followed with ratings of 6 points each.

Atletico's early game flow was good. In the 17th minute of the first half, Llorente received a penetrating pass from Alvarez and calmly scored the opening goal with a left-footed chip shot. In the 26th minute, Lee Kang-in evaded opponent pressure with smooth dribbling and delivered a sharp switching pass to Simeone on the left side, creating an attacking opportunity that led to Alvarez's threatening effective shot. In the 28th minute, he was brought down by a rough tackle from Alexis Mac Allister, inducing a caution against his opponent.

According to football statistics specialist media 'FootMob', Lee Kang-in recorded a pass success rate of 89% (25/28), a long-pass success rate of 100% (3/3), one chance created, and two passes in the attacking area during his 59 minutes on the field, but did not attempt a single shot. 'FootMob' also gave Lee Kang-in a rating of 6.1 points.

The fatal error was Lee Kang-in's turnover near the end of the first half. Liverpool induced a turnover from Lee Kang-in in midfield and connected it to Bradley Barcola. The first shot was blocked by Oblak, but Ronald Araujo passed the loose ball to Dominik Szoboszlai, who scored the equalizer. Then, in the 5th minute of the second half, they conceded a surprise left-footed non-stop mid-range comeback goal from Mac Allister. Under pressure, Atletico brought on Lee Kang-in and Koke in the 14th minute of the second half and substituted in Grimaldo and Lookman, but could not change the flow of the game.

Atletico, who had scored the opening goal in their last 13 UCL matches and recorded only one loss (10 wins, 2 draws), held a high possession rate of 71% from the 15th to the 30th minute of the second half but ultimately failed to open the goal line and collapsed with a 1-2 defeat. Lee Kang-in, who had his first UCL start opportunity since joining Atletico, swallowed his regrets along with a painful mistake while receiving a rating of 4 points.

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*This content was translated by AI.