{"id":13406,"date":"2026-08-20T10:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T07:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/ng\/news\/?p=13406"},"modified":"2026-08-20T10:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T07:08:12","slug":"atletico-madrid-2-0-malaga-kang-in-lee-scores-debut-rocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/ng\/news\/atletico-madrid-2-0-malaga-kang-in-lee-scores-debut-rocket\/","title":{"rendered":"Atl\u00e9tico Madrid 2-0 M\u00e1laga: Kang-in Lee Scores Debut Rocket"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Kang-in Lee marked his official Atl\u00e9tico Madrid debut with a spectacular goal before \u00c1lex Baena produced a brilliant late free-kick to secure a 2-0 victory over M\u00e1laga in the opening round of the 2026\/27 LaLiga season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diego Simeone\u2019s team initially struggled to break down the newly promoted visitors at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. However, the introduction of Lee and Baena transformed the contest, giving Atl\u00e9tico the attacking quality required to begin their campaign with three points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both goals arrived during the final 20 minutes. Lee opened the scoring in the 70th minute, only 13 minutes after coming off the bench, while Baena sealed the result with a stunning direct free-kick five minutes from time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Atl\u00e9tico Madrid vs M\u00e1laga match summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Match detail<\/th>Information<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Competition<\/td>LaLiga 2026\/27<\/td><\/tr>
Matchday<\/td>1<\/td><\/tr>
Result<\/td>Atl\u00e9tico Madrid 2-0 M\u00e1laga<\/td><\/tr>
Scorers<\/td>Kang-in Lee 70\u2019, \u00c1lex Baena 85\u2019<\/td><\/tr>
Venue<\/td>Riyadh Air Metropolitano<\/td><\/tr>
Attendance<\/td>65,785<\/td><\/tr>
Date<\/td>August 19, 2026<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The official LaLiga match centre<\/a> confirms the result, scorers and attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M\u00e1laga frustrate Atl\u00e9tico in the first half<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Atl\u00e9tico entered the match as strong favourites, but M\u00e1laga showed why they could be difficult opponents following their return to Spain\u2019s top division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The visitors defended with discipline and remained composed when playing out from the back. Atl\u00e9tico controlled periods of possession without creating enough clear opportunities, registering their first shot on target through Rodrigo Mendoza in the 35th minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M\u00e1laga also carried a threat on the counterattack. Jan Oblak, making his 400th LaLiga appearance, was forced into an impressive double intervention shortly before halftime, although the second effort was eventually ruled offside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The score remained goalless at the interval, leaving Simeone searching for greater pace and invention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kang-in Lee scores a rocket on his Atl\u00e9tico debut<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Atl\u00e9tico improved after Marcos Llorente\u2019s introduction at halftime, but the decisive changes arrived in the 57th minute. Simeone sent on Kang-in Lee, \u00c1lex Baena and Giuliano Simeone together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee immediately looked determined to make an impression. Operating from the right and cutting onto his stronger left foot, the South Korean international attempted shots in the 59th and 64th minutes before delivering the breakthrough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 70th minute, Lee collected a long pass from D\u00e1vid Hancko on the right. He drove inside, escaped three M\u00e1laga defenders and unleashed a magnificent left-footed strike into the top-left corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a dream introduction for the summer signing from Paris Saint-Germain. Lee needed just 13 minutes on the pitch to score his first competitive Atl\u00e9tico Madrid goal, demonstrating the close control, creativity and shooting ability he can bring to Simeone\u2019s attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debutant also created three chances and won three tackles, joint team-high totals in both categories, according to match data reported by beIN Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00c1lex Baena scores stunning free-kick<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lee\u2019s opening goal changed the momentum completely. M\u00e1laga began to tire, while Atl\u00e9tico pushed forward in search of a second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ademola Lookman tested goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero before Hancko headed Baena\u2019s corner against the crossbar. The pressure eventually produced another moment of individual brilliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After winning a free-kick near the edge of the M\u00e1laga penalty area in the 84th minute, Baena took responsibility himself. The Spanish World Cup winner curled a superb right-footed strike into the top-left corner via the underside of the crossbar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herrero had no chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baena\u2019s 85th-minute goal completed Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s 2-0 victory and provided a fitting conclusion to an evening on which the club\u2019s Spanish world champions had presented the trophy to supporters before kickoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also a notable piece of history: Baena became the first Spanish player to score a direct LaLiga free-kick for Atl\u00e9tico since Antonio L\u00f3pez against Real Zaragoza in October 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez missed the match<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez was not included in Atl\u00e9tico Madrid\u2019s matchday squad for the LaLiga opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simeone explained before the game that the Argentina international required more training after returning later than several teammates following his World Cup involvement. Baena, Llorente and Juan Musso had also completed only a limited period of preparation, although the first two were fit enough to feature as substitutes. Cadena SER reported Simeone\u2019s explanation before kickoff<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00c1lvarez\u2019s absence did not prevent Atl\u00e9tico from finding a breakthrough, but his eventual return will give Simeone another elite attacking option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A perfect start for Atl\u00e9tico Madrid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s performance was not flawless, particularly during a difficult first half. Nevertheless, the impact of Simeone\u2019s substitutes demonstrated the depth and match-winning quality available to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M\u00e1laga deserve credit for remaining competitive for more than an hour in their first LaLiga match since the 2017\/18 season. Once Lee broke the deadlock, however, Atl\u00e9tico took control and never looked likely to surrender their advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee\u2019s explosive debut and Baena\u2019s spectacular free-kick delivered the perfect start: two outstanding goals, a clean sheet and three valuable points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Atl\u00e9tico supporters, the most encouraging feature was not simply the result. It was the sight of two gifted attacking players immediately taking responsibility\u2014and suggesting that Simeone\u2019s team could possess a new creative edge this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangbet<\/a> More Than Win!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kang-in Lee marked his official Atl\u00e9tico Madrid debut with a spectacular goal before \u00c1lex Baena produced a brilliant late free-kick to secure a 2-0 victory over M\u00e1laga in the opening round of the 2026\/27 LaLiga season. Diego Simeone\u2019s team initially struggled to break down the newly promoted visitors at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. However, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":13407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,34],"tags":[3411,3127,3410],"class_list":["post-13406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football-news","category-football-odds","tag-atletico-madrid-2-0-malaga","tag-julian-alvarez-2","tag-kang-in-lee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13406"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13410,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13406\/revisions\/13410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}