"Put Lee Han-beom in" — Belgian fans' demand leads to second-half debut, 100% aerial duel success rate... Club Brugge stuns Inter Milan with 4-3 away victory

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

South Korea national team defender Lee Han-beom (24) made his presence felt on the stage of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League (UCL).

Club Brugge (Belgium) secured a 4-3 victory in a high-scoring affair against Inter Milan (Italy) in their away match for the second round of the 2026~2027 UCL league phase, held at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan, Italy, on the 14th (Korean time).

It was a valuable win earned on the home ground of prestigious Italian club Inter Milan.

Lee Han-beom was left off the starting lineup that day. Brugge fielded Jorne Spileers, a 21-year-old youth product and Belgian player, as center back.

However, voices calling for Lee Han-beom began to erupt among local fans from the first half.

Belgian media outlet Voetbalnieuws reported on the day that "Spileers and the defensive line received concentrated criticism from fans during the first half."

In particular, the outlet explained, "21-year-old youth product Spileers was given an unexpected starting opportunity over Lee Han-beom at center back but failed to convince the fans," adding, "Eventually, demands emerged to bring Lee Han-beom back on in the second half."

Indeed, Brugge took the lead with a penalty kick goal by Nicolò Tresoldi in the 30th minute of the first half, but conceded an equalizer to Lautaro Martínez in the 44th minute, ending the first half tied at 1-1.

According to reports, one fan demanded via social media, "Spileers is a good player, but I still want to see Lee Han-beom in the second half."

Another fan said, "Please take Spileers off at halftime," and reactions such as "Spileers' performance so far has been terrible" also emerged.

Ultimately, Lee Han-beom, whom the fans had wanted to see, stepped onto the pitch in the 16th minute of the second half. After Spileers suffered an injury, Lee Han-beom came on as a substitute and played out the remaining time.

Lee Han-beom lived up to the fans' expectations. In particular, his aerial dominance stood out. Lee Han-beom engaged in three aerial duels during his 29 minutes on the field and won all of them. His success rate was 100%.

He also recorded two clearances, two header clearances, two interceptions, and two ball recoveries. He successfully completed one tackle as well.

He attempted 18 passes and connected 15 accurately, recording an 83% success rate. He had a total of 26 ball touches.

Football statistics media outlet FotMob gave Lee Han-beom a rating of 6.6. This was higher than the 6.4 rating given to Spileers, who started the match.

Lee Han-beom also contributed to the team's victory.

Two minutes after Lee Han-beom entered the game, in the 18th minute of the second half, Tresoldi scored an additional goal to put Brugge back ahead 2-1.

Tresoldi added another goal in the 29th minute of the second half to complete a hat trick, extending the lead to 3-1.

Inter Milan did not give up easily either. In the 36th minute of the second half, Lautaro scored his second goal to narrow the gap to 2-3.

However, Brugge pulled away by two goals again with an additional goal from Romeo Vermant in the 42nd minute of the second half.

Inter Milan managed to pull one back through Ange-Yoan Bonny in stoppage time of the second half, but could not overturn the result.

Ultimately, Brugge won 4-3, creating a major upset on their away trip to Inter Milan.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original