'Lee Kang-in's Left Foot Boom' Starts as Starter, Strikes the Goal Frame... Yet Atletico Secures 2-0 Victory → Overtakes Barcelona to Climb to League Leader

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Atletico, managed by Diego Simeone, won 2-0 in their away match against Levante on the 31st at 10 p.m. (Korean time) at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia in Valencia, Spain, in the 11th round of the 2026~2027 season Spanish La Liga.

With this result, Atletico recorded a record of 9 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss (28 points), overtaking Barcelona (27 points) to climb to first place in the league. However, since Barcelona has played one fewer match, it remains to be seen whether they will maintain their lead.

On this day, Lee Kang-in started as a forward alongside Julian Alvarez. Atletico deployed a 4-4-2 formation, with Lee Kang-in leading the attack alongside Alvarez.

Lee Kang-in played for 67 minutes until the 22nd minute of the second half before being substituted off for Jonathan David. European football statistics media FootMob gave Lee Kang-in a rating of 6.4.

On this day, Lee Kang-in recorded a pass success rate of 91% (31/34 attempts). He had 50 ball touches and one successful dribble. He attempted three long passes, all of which were successful, and won the ball back four times. However, he was unable to record an offensive point.

Lee Kang-in's starting appearance was an unexpected choice. Previously, local Spanish media outlets predicted that Lee Kang-in would likely start on the bench in this match against Levante.

The analysis suggested that Atletico could manage Lee Kang-in's stamina in preparation for their UEFA Champions League (UCL) home match against Bayern Munich (Germany) on November 4.

However, Manager Simeone's choice was different. He named Lee Kang-in as a starter.

Trusted by the manager, Lee Kang-in actively joined the attack from the first half. In the 25th minute of the first half, he received a pass from Alex Baena and attempted a left-footed shot, but the ball flew over the goal frame.

Atletico scored the opening goal in the 36th minute of the first half. Baena connected a pass to Alejandro Grimaldo, who was making an incursion on the left flank. Grimaldo shook the net with a powerful shot.

Atletico ended the first half leading 1-0.

Atletico's offensive pressure continued in the second half. In particular, Lee Kang-in found himself with a decisive scoring opportunity in the 10th minute of the second half.

Pablo Barrios advanced into the attacking territory and connected a pass to Lee Kang-in, who was positioned at the edge of the penalty area. Without hesitation, Lee Kang-in fired a powerful one-touch left-footed shot.

However, the ball struck the crossbar. It bounced off the goal frame, narrowly missing a scoring opportunity.

Prior to this, Atletico also failed to capitalize on additional goal opportunities, such as when David Hanzco shook the net in the 8th minute of the second half, but the goal was disallowed due to an offside call.

However, the additional goal finally came in the 17th minute of the second half.

The scorer was Giuliano Simeone. Giuliano calmly finished the scoring opportunity after receiving a pass from Baena, shaking Levante's net. The score widened to 2-0.

Afterward, Manager Simeone utilized his substitution cards. In the 22nd minute of the second half, he simultaneously brought off Lee Kang-in and Alvarez, bringing on David and Alexander Sorloth. Having secured the lead early, they also gained the leeway to manage the stamina of their key players in preparation for the Munich match.

Ultimately, Atletico held onto their two-goal lead until the end, securing a valuable three points.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original