"What is rotation?" Lee Kang-in, aespa's Nio suddenly selected as starter: "The ace has no time to rest"... Aiming for his third goal against aespa's Nio

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Lee Kang-in (25, Atletico Madrid) will start without any rotation in the away match against aespa뇰, aiming simultaneously for a sixth consecutive win in all competitions and his third league goal of the season.

Atletico will face aespa뇰 in an away match for Matchday 9 of the 2026-2027 Spanish La Liga at RCDE Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, at 9 p.m. (KST) on the 17th.

Manager Diego Simeone deployed a 4-4-2 formation and included Lee Kang-in in the starting lineup. Lee Kang-in will form the midfield alongside Pablo Barrios, Morten Hjulmand, and Giuliano Simeone. Jonathan David and Ademola Lookman will lead the line up front, while Dani Martinez, David Hancko, Cristian Romero, and Marc Pubill will make up the back four. Jan Oblak will guard the goal.

Although Atletico is preparing for an away Champions League (UCL) match against Stuttgart on the 21st, Lee Kang-in will start as usual, backed by unwavering trust from the coaching staff.

Atletico, currently in second place in the league (19 points: 6 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss), is in hot pursuit of leaders Barcelona (24 points). Following their UCL defeat to Liverpool last month, they have won five consecutive matches in all competitions, defeating Real Sociedad, Osasuna, Real Madrid, Alaves, and Manchester United in succession. In contrast, aespa뇰, ranked 12th (8 points: 2 wins, 2 draws, 4 losses), has failed to win in their last three matches (1 draw, 2 losses), suggesting an objective advantage for Atletico.

Lee Kang-in, who has emerged as the team's ace, has appeared in 10 matches this season, recording 2 goals and 1 assist. In the second UCL match against Manchester United on the 14th, he set up the opening winning goal just one minute after kickoff, leading his team to victory. While his form is at its peak, he has not added an attacking point for his club in about a month since scoring against Osasuna on the 18th of last month.

Attention will be on whether Lee Kang-in can break his scoring drought and fire up his goal-scoring machine in this match. He has played five matches against aespa뇰 in total, including during his time at Valencia and Mallorca, but has yet to record an attacking point against them.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original