MADRID — Lee Kang-in made a flying start to his time at Atletico Madrid, scoring on his debut with a stunning goal.
Lee delivered the opening winner for Atletico in the 70th minute of their 2026-2027 La Liga first-round home match against Malaga at Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid on the 20th, Korea time.
Starting on the bench, Lee came on as a substitute in the 58th minute and struck the team's opening goal in the 70th minute with a spectacular left-footed curler from the right side of the penalty arc.
The strike came on his official debut after Lee joined Atletico this month, leaving Paris Saint-Germain of France, where he had played three seasons.
It was Lee's first La Liga goal in three years and three months, since a match against Bilbao in May 2023 when he played for Mallorca.
His performance earned him the man of the match award.
Atletico completed a 2-0 win with a free-kick goal from Alex Baena in the 85th minute.
According to football statistics outlet Fotmob, Lee completed 13 of 14 passes over his 33 minutes on the pitch. He also won all four of his ground duels, made three tackles on defense, and contributed to the counterattack that led to the clinching goal in the 85th minute.
After the match, Spain's Marca praised Lee, writing that Atletico had been unable to break down Malaga's tight defensive organization at all, but that Lee, brought on in the second half, beat opponents with feints, drove into the center and finally broke the deadlock with a spectacular curling shot.
Marca added that Atletico had found a new hero in the Korean player.
In an interview with the broadcaster after the match, Lee said he knew the first game was very important. "It's true that training was a bit short because many players had just returned from the World Cup, but I'm very happy that we could win. I'll keep working hard to reach my best condition for the next match," he said.
On being named man of the match, Lee spoke calmly. "I still need to sharpen my match form, but if I keep working, I believe I'll improve both individually and as a team," he said. "I hope we can rack up a lot of points and keep winning."
