"Lee Kang-in, one of the few players to stand out in a sluggish ATM performance" — Spanish local media also acknowledge... "He came close to scoring two stunning goals"

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While Atletico Madrid endured a frustrating first half, Lee Kang-in (25) was a different story. Local Spanish media also highly praised Lee Kang-in's performance.

Atletico secured a 1-0 victory in their home match against Deportivo La Coruna on the 10th matchday of the 2026-2027 Spanish La Liga season, held at Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, at 4 a.m. (KST) on the 25th.

Lee Kang-in, who started the match, played for 67 minutes until being substituted for Alexander Sorloth in the 22nd minute of the second half, contributing to Atletico's attack.

Local Spanish media also took note of Lee Kang-in's performance. The Spanish outlet "Cadena Ser" reported, "Deportivo showed a very good form early in the match. They dominated the game for the first 30 minutes at Metropolitano."

In fact, despite recording seven shots during the first half, Atletico failed to register a single shot on target.

Nevertheless, Lee Kang-in's movement stood out. The outlet stated, "Lee Kang-in was one of the few players to stand out for Atletico in the first half," adding, "The Korean player Lee Kang-in created two moments close to stunning goals through individual play."

In particular, a scene in the 37th minute of the first half was impressive. Lee Kang-in took the ball himself and charged toward the Deportivo defense. After weaving through three defenders in succession, he advanced to the vicinity of the penalty box and finished the attack with a direct shot.

Although it did not result in a goal, it was a scene where he rattled the opponent's defense with his individual ability.

One minute later, Lee Kang-in fired another threatening long-range shot, aiming once again at the Deportivo goal.

Considering his recent physical condition, this performance was all the more welcome. Lee Kang-in missed the UEFA Champions League (UCL) match against Stuttgart (Germany) on the 21st. Following the previous match against [aespa] Spain, he had experienced overloading in the quadriceps femoris at the front of his thigh, and Atletico managed his condition by adjusting his training volume.

Fortunately, he returned to full training ahead of the Deportivo match, and manager Diego Simeone immediately deployed Lee Kang-in as a starter. Lee Kang-in took the field as the right-side attacker instead of his positional rival Giuliano Simeone.

His statistics were also solid. Lee Kang-in recorded 38 touches, attempting four dribbles and succeeding in all of them, for a 100% success rate. He also won all five ground duels. He controlled the ball three times inside the opponent's penalty box, and recorded two ball recoveries and one foul drawn.

Football statistics media FootMob gave Lee Kang-in a rating of 7.2. Another statistics media, SofaScore, also awarded him a rating of 7.4.

Atletico seized the initiative with Julian Alvarez's winning goal in the third minute of the second half. Alvarez pushed in a pass from Alejandro Grimaldo on the left side of the penalty box to shake the net.

Atletico held onto their 1-0 lead until the end, securing three points. With this victory, Atletico recorded eight wins, one draw, and one loss (25 points), maintaining their second place in La Liga. They also maintained a two-point gap behind leader Barcelona (27 points).

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original