South Korea's national team "ace" Lee Kang-in, 25, made his presence felt again on the European stage. He did not record a goal or an assist, but he played his part by starting the move that produced the opening goal and shifted the flow of the match.
Atletico Madrid beat Manchester United of England 2-0 in a home match at Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, on the 13th, in the second round of the league phase of the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League.
Atletico, which had narrowly lost 1-2 away at Liverpool on Sept. 10, claimed its first three points of the competition with the win, giving the club a platform to rebound. Manchester United, meanwhile, had built momentum with a victory in its previous match but failed to secure back-to-back wins, leaving its calculations more complicated in the early stage of the league phase.
Lee started as the deeper of the two forwards in a 4-4-2 formation and played 61 minutes before being replaced by Jonathan David in the 61st minute.
Lee focused on linking attack and defense. He dropped deep, moving from the front line to the right flank and as far back as a holding position, repeatedly disrupting the space between Manchester United's midfield and defensive lines. He completed 32 of 35 passes for a 91% success rate and made one ball recovery, contributing at both ends of the pitch. He did not, however, produce eye-catching numbers such as shots or key passes.
Football statistics outlet FotMob gave Lee a rating of 6.7. Julian Alvarez, his partner in the two-man attack, managed only 6.5. The forwards' ratings were generally low relative to the team's victory.
Lee started the move for Pablo Barrios' goal, which came almost immediately after kickoff. In the first minute, Lee collected the ball below the halfway line and lofted a pass forward to Alex Baena, and that single switch broke down Manchester United's defensive line. It did not count as a goal or an assist in the statistics, but it was the effective starting point of the scoring sequence. Barrios then received Baena's pass and converted it.
Manchester United, chasing an equalizer, faced a decisive turn in the 74th minute. Defender Leny Yoro brought down David as he broke clear one-on-one, and the referee produced a red card after a video assistant referee review.
With a numerical advantage, Atletico settled the result immediately. In the 79th minute, David's shot was blocked by the goalkeeper, but Ademola Lookman calmly tucked away the loose ball to make it 2-0.