(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Young-ho = Spanish professional soccer La Liga Atletico Madrid defeated Manchester United (Man Utd) of the English Premier League (EPL) and won its first victory in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) this season.
Atletico won 2-0 in the second leg of the 2026-2027 UCL League Phase against Manchester United held at Riyadh Air Metropolitan in Madrid, Spain on the 14th (Korean time).
Atlético, who lost 1-2 to Liverpool in the first leg of the league phase, won a landslide victory over Manchester United.
Lee Kang-in started as a two-top striker in the 4-4-2 tactic and did not attempt a shot until he was replaced in the 16th minute of the second half, but he contributed to the team's victory with a wonderful forward pass that was the starting point for the first and final goal.
Atletico scored in less than a minute in the first half.
During the build-up immediately after kickoff, Lee Kang-in made a 'killer pass' toward the space behind the Manchester United defense near the halfway line 41 seconds into the first half. Alex Baena rushed in and received the ball, then penetrated to the left of the penalty area and passed it to Fabio Barrios, who was running from the opposite side.
Barrios hit a right-footed shot from the right side of the penalty area, and the ball hit the opposing defender and was sucked into the goal.
The goal was scored 50 seconds after kickoff in the first half.
It was a moment where Lee Kang-in's accurate left foot ability stood out as he captured Baena's movement and made a space pass.
Atlético seemed to score an additional goal from Johnny Cardoso in the penalty area in the 43rd minute of the first half, but suffered the disappointment of having the goal cancelled, as a teammate's handball foul was discovered through a VAR on-field review just before the goal.
Atlético, who finished the first half 1-0, missed an opportunity to score an additional goal in the 9th minute of the second half when Julian Alvarez's left-footed volley hit the left post of Manchester United.
Atletico replaced Lee Kang-in with Jonathan David in the 16th minute of the second half.
Lee Kang-in, who played 61 minutes that day, received a rating of 6.7 from SofaScore.
Atletico gained a numerical advantage in the 29th minute of the second half when Manchester United's central defender Leni Yoro received a red card for a foul while blocking a counterattack and was sent off.
In the 34th minute of the second half, Atletico's counterattack ended with a 2-0 win when David's left-footed shot, which went straight into the penalty area, hit the goalkeeper's hand, and Ademola Lockman pushed it in with his right foot in front of the goal.
In another match, Bayern Munich of the German Bundesliga drew 3-3 with Viking FK (Norway) in the second leg of the UCL league phase away due to Michael Olise's sending off.
Munich's central defender Kim Min-jae played full-time and contributed five times to the defense, but was disappointed by allowing three goals due to the team's overall defensive instability. Minjae Kim’s sofa score rating was 6.2.
Munich, who were dragged by a header in the 2nd minute of the first half, allowed an additional goal in the 38th minute of the first half to fall to 0-2.
Munich narrowed the score gap in the 9th minute of the second half with goal scorer Harry Kane's penalty kick chase goal, and 6 minutes later, Kane scored the equalizing goal to balance the game.
Munich gained momentum and Luis Dias scored a comeback goal in the 26th minute of the second half, quickly turning the game around 3-2.
However, Munich brought themselves into crisis in the 28th minute of the second half when Olise received an additional yellow card and was sent off for an unnecessary action of throwing the ball into the opponent's face after receiving a warning.
Munich ultimately gave up the equalizing goal in the 45th minute of the second half and had to be satisfied with a 3-3 draw.
In addition, Brugge (Belgium), in which national team defender Han-beom Lee played as a substitute, won 4-3 against Italian 'powerhouse' Inter Milan in the second leg of the UCL league phase away, wiping away the disappointment of losing 2-3 to Aston Villa (England) in the first leg and winning for the first time.
Lee Han-beom, who was waiting on the bench, was substituted in the 16th minute of the second half when the teams were tied 1-1, and the two teams fell into a stalemate.
Brugge took the lead 3-2 with a hat-trick in the 29th minute of the second half by Nicolo Tresoldi, who scored the first goal with a penalty kick in the 30th minute of the first half, and Romeo Vermant's goal in the 42nd minute of the second half led them to 4-2.
Brugge gave up a chasing goal to Inter Milan in the 45th minute of the second half and trailed by 4-3, but were able to prevent further goals from being conceded and secured the victory.
Hanbeom Lee received a rating of 6.1 from SofaScore.
