*This content was translated by AI.
Lee Kang-in (25), making his UEFA Champions League (UCL) debut after transferring to Atlético Madrid, could not escape harsh criticism from local media.
On the 10th (Korean time), Lee Kang-in started in the match against Liverpool at Anfield in Liverpool, England, and played for 59 minutes before being substituted in the 14th minute of the second half.
Playing as the forward in a two-striker formation, Lee Kang-in recorded no shots, an 89% passing success rate (25/28), a 100% long-pass success rate (3/3), and one chance created, but failed to register any shot.
Lee Kang-in's lack of offensive impact and unremarkable presence led to disappointing local ratings.
Spanish media outlet Marca gave Lee Kang-in only one star (★) in its post-match rating. Marca evaluates player performance using a scale of zero to three stars after each match, with three stars representing the highest score.
This was a surprising evaluation for Lee Kang-in, who had consistently received positive reviews from Marca, including an unusual two-star rating despite his team's 0-3 defeat against Athletic Club (Bilbao) in the fourth round of Spain's La Liga on the 5th.
On this day, however, Marca awarded one star to seven players who started, including Lee Kang-in. Marc Pubill and Julián Simón received no stars at all. Only goalkeeper Jan Oblak and Marcos Llorente, who scored the opening goal as a wing-back, received two stars.
It was not just Marca. Another Spanish outlet, AS, which also uses spades (♠) to rate player performance, gave Lee Kang-in only one spade. His partners Álvarez, Llorente, Christian Romero, and Oblak each received two spades from AS. Pubill and Julián did not receive any ratings from AS. All other players, including Lee Kang-in, were given one spade.
Another media outlet, El Desmarque, stated: "Lee Kang-in showed flashes of brilliance early in the match but gradually lost influence and became invisible as time passed. He committed a mistake after losing possession in his own half, which led to Liverpool's equalizing goal," assigning him a rating of 4 out of 10 points.
Meanwhile, Atlético Madrid suffered a 2-1 comeback defeat after conceding consecutive goals: Dominic Solanke in the 17th minute of the first half, followed by Alexis Mac Allister in the 5th minute of the second half. Lee Kang-in will attempt to turn around his form in an away match against Real Sociedad in the fifth round of Spain's La Liga on the morning of the 14th at 4 a.m.
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*This content was translated by AI.
