Lee Kang-in's First Atlético Madrid Assist and His Next Match
Lee Kang-in picked up his first competitive assist for Atlético Madrid on August 29 (August 30 in Korea), and it only took him four minutes.
Atlético were away at Sevilla for Matchday 3 of the new La Liga season. Kang-in started on the right side of the attack, and in the fourth minute he slid a pass through the Sevilla back line that Álex Baena finished for the opening goal. Atlético went on to win 3-1. Kang-in played 72 minutes before coming off, and by the time he left the pitch he'd already posted the best individual numbers of his short Atlético career.
First Assist, Near-Perfect Passing Numbers
The stat line from that match, first reported by Korea JoongAng Daily among Korean outlets covering the game, is the kind that gets circulated in Spain too: 44 touches, 30 of 32 passes completed, one big chance created, three successful dribbles. Fotmob had him at an 8.0 rating, the fifth-best mark on Atlético's own team sheet that day.
One pass mattered more than the rest.
It wasn't a simple ball. Kang-in carried it up the right side, cut inside, and threaded a pass into the box that Baena only had to finish. Spanish outlet El Desmarque gave him a 7 out of 10 and wrote that the Korean international had settled in at Atlético as if he'd always been there.
AS described him as comfortable and effective on the right flank in the same match report. Getting praised in the Spanish press for a single assist in August doesn't mean much by itself. Getting praised for the technique behind it is a better sign.
Atlético Paid Close to Falcao Money to Get Him
Kang-in joined Atlético this summer from Paris Saint-Germain, where he spent three seasons and made 80 Ligue 1 appearances, scoring 12 goals and adding 14 assists. The transfer fee is reported at close to €40 million, and it's Diego Simeone, still in charge after fifteen seasons and a contract extension agreed back in March, who has to make it look worth it.
Korean outlets converted that to roughly 67 billion won (some reports round it closer to 67.1 billion, others nearer 70 billion, depending on the exchange rate used and whether add-ons are counted). Stick with the euro figure. What both sets of reports do agree on is the comparison: Atlético haven't paid a fee in that range since Radamel Falcao arrived from Porto in 2011, a deal still remembered at the club as one of its best pieces of business this century. That's the company Kang-in's fee puts him in, fairly or not.
Where Atlético Actually Stand After Three Rounds
Right after the Sevilla win, some Korean coverage described Atlético as top of the table. That was accurate for about half a day. Barcelona beat Rayo Vallecano 5-2 away on August 31, and Real Madrid had already put four past Málaga the day before.
As of September 3 KST, per La Liga's own standings, Barcelona and Real Madrid are both perfect through three matches on nine points apiece. Atlético sit third on seven, from two wins and a draw, with a plus-four goal difference and no losses yet.
Third place after three rounds, unbeaten, with a new signing already assisting goals, is a solid start by most measures. It's just not the start the same-day headlines made it sound like.
So Where Can You Watch the Next One?
Atlético's next league match is September 5, away at Athletic Club's San Mamés in Bilbao, for Matchday 4. Kickoff is 14:15 UTC, which works out to:
- 11:15 p.m. KST (already deep into Saturday night in Korea)
- 10:15 a.m. ET
- 3:15 p.m. UK time
In the United States, ESPN's streaming tier carries every La Liga match this season, and this one is also listed on Fubo and ESPN Deportes if you want the Spanish-language call. In the UK, Atlético matches run on Premier Sports' LaLigaTV under a three-season rights deal, with one game a week carved out for Disney+ instead, so check the app before you assume which channel has this particular kickoff.
San Mamés isn't an easy building to get a result in, and if you're expecting a repeat of the Sevilla numbers, dial it back — Athletic Club start slow most seasons and pick up form once the crowd gets loud, and Kang-in has played all of one competitive match in Spain so far.
There's no rest after that, either. Atlético open their Champions League league phase four days later, away at Liverpool on September 9, with kickoff set for 8 p.m. UK time — 3 p.m. ET, and a genuinely rough 4 a.m. KST wake-up call for anyone in Korea planning to watch it live rather than check the score at breakfast.
If Kang-in strings together a second performance like the one in Seville before Anfield comes around, the conversation stops being about the €40 million fee and starts being about what Atlético actually bought.
This is a running news series, not a one-off post — new stories go up twice a day, roughly 7am and 7pm Korea time.
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