Atlético Madrid's Lee Kang-in, right, competes with Yuri Berchiche of Athletic Bilbao during a La Liga match on Sept. 5.REUTERS/YONHAP
Atlético Madrid's Lee Kang-in came within inches of scoring his second goal of the season on Saturday, only to be denied by the woodwork.
Atlético suffered a 3-0 away defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the fourth round of the La Liga season at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, Spain. It was Atlético’s first loss in four matches after two wins and a draw, putting the club sixth in the table.
Making his third consecutive start, Lee partnered Álex Baena up front and played until the 59th minute but failed to register a goal or assist for a second straight match. Lee scored on his Atletico debut against Málaga in the season opener and picked up an assist against Sevilla in the third round.
Lee nearly put Atlético ahead just three minutes after kickoff. He collected a pass from Pablo Barrios on the right side of the penalty area, beat a defender with a feint and ripped a shot toward the far corner. The ball struck the left post and rolled along the goal line without going in.
In the 23rd minute, Lee cut a pass from the center toward the right for Baena, whose shot was kept out by goalkeeper Unai Simón. Lee was booked for a foul during a challenge in the 39th minute.
A minute later, a left-footed effort from distance deflected off a defender’s head and went out for a corner.
Lee Kang-in of Atlético Madrid kicks a ball during a friendly against Manchester City in western Seoul on Aug. 10.NEWS1
Atlético unraveled just 37 seconds into the second half. An effort by Bilbao’s Iñaki Williams took a deflection off an Atlético defender before his younger brother Nico Williams headed the loose ball home for the opener.
Athletic doubled the lead two minutes later when Robert Navarro finished a counterattack after receiving a pass from the older Williams.
With Atlético desperately chasing the game, Simeone made four substitutions at once in the 59th minute. Lee made way for Julián Alvarez, while Koke, Cristian Romero and Arnau Ortiz also came on.
The changes failed to spark a comeback. Atlético could not find a way back into the match and instead conceded a third in the 90th minute to Oihan Sancet.
Football statistics platform FotMob gave Lee a rating of 6.7.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
