▲ Lee Kang-in
South Korean national football team "ace" Lee Kang-in, who has quickly established himself as a key player for Spanish professional club Atletico Madrid upon joining this season, has recorded his first assist of the season, helping extend the team's undefeated streak to three matches in La Liga.
Starting in the away match against Sevilla for the 3rd round of the 2026-2027 La Liga season held at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Sevilla, Spain on the 30th (Korean time), Lee assisted Alex Baena's opening goal just four minutes into the first half to break the scoreless tie.
This marks Lee's first assist of the season.
Having returned to La Liga after four seasons by donning Atletico Madrid's number 7 jersey following a stint with French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Lee previously found the net in the opening match against Malaga on the 20th.
After appearing as a substitute in the first round, Lee earned his first start in the second round against Villarreal on the 24th. Although he did not record an attacking point while playing until the 22nd minute of the second half, he was named to the starting lineup once again on this day and produced his second attacking point of the season.
Atletico Madrid defeated Sevilla 3-1 to continue their three-match unbeaten run (2 wins, 1 draw) in the league, climbing to the top of the La Liga table with 7 points.
Sevilla, suffering their first defeat after opening the season with two consecutive wins, dropped to 5th place with 6 points.
Stepping up to lead the attack alongside Baena, Lee manufactured the combined goal just four minutes into the match.
Dribbling the ball down the right flank, Lee sent a delicate pass into the penalty area, and Baena calmly finished with a right-footed shot to open the scoring.
Atletico then widened the gap in the 26th minute of the first half with an additional goal by Ademola Lookman, and Baena secured a 3-0 lead in the 33rd minute with a surprise mid-range shot, firmly seizing control of the match early on.
In the 6th minute of the second half, Lookman found the back of the net following a fluid buildup orchestrated by Lee, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Although they failed to score any further goals afterward, Atletico conceded a consolation goal to Miguel Sierra in the 21st minute of the second half, but it had no impact on securing the full three points.
Lee, who played until the 27th minute of the second half before being replaced by Koke, recorded 44 touches and a 94 percent pass success rate (32 of 32) according to football statistics specialist FotMob.
FotMob gave Lee a rating of 8.0, the fifth highest on the team.
Baena, who exploded for multiple goals, received the highest rating of 9.1 for both teams.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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