Substitutes Kang-in Lee and Alex Baena’s spectacular targets gave Atletico Madrid a late win at house to cussed Malaga of their opening match of the Liga season on the Metropolitano.
House supervisor Diego Simeone saved lots of his star names on the bench initially and didn’t identify Julian Alvarez in his squad amid hypothesis over the striker’s future.
Kang-in Lee, that’s SPECIAL! 😍
What a means for the Korean worldwide to announce himself in LALIGA on his Atletico Madrid debut 🇰🇷 pic.twitter.com/biXep3j1Hr
— Premier Sports activities (@PremSportsTV) August 19, 2026
New signing Lee lower alongside the sting of the field and unleashed a elegant strike to place Atleti forward within the seventieth minute, adopted by one other astounding end when World Cup 2026 winner Baena curled in a free-kick 5 minutes from time by way of the underside of the crossbar.
Promoted final season, Malaga have been lacking a string of gamers by way of damage and threatened to go forward when David Larrubia and Chupe have been denied in fast succession by goalkeeper Jan Oblak, though the assault was then dominated offside.
Alex Baena with a textbook free kick! 🎯
That’s completely PERFECT from the Atletico Madrid man 🙌 pic.twitter.com/VhYGDQEZS5
— Premier Sports activities (@PremSportsTV) August 19, 2026
Atleti vs Malaga: Simeone substitutes shine
Simeone despatched on his scorers and son Giuliano Simeone for Arnau Ortiz, Rodrigo Mendoza and Carlos Martin within the 57th minute, the trio of modifications quickly paying dividends for a youthful crew.
Lee, who arrived from Paris Saint-Germain in July for a reported price of round £34.3m, introduced himself to the house followers in game-changing, net-busting trend and Atleti have been unlucky to not make the scoreline 2-0 earlier, David Hancko hitting the crossbar with a header.
As Atleti try to enhance upon a fourth-placed end final season, Simeone’s choice selections might have mirrored a perception that the go to of final season’s third-placed finishers, Villarreal, will show more durable on Saturday (16:00 BST).
Malaga play their first house sport of the season on Monday (20:30), dealing with one of many groups to have completed above them within the second tier in 2025/26, Deportivo.
Atletico Madrid crew vs Malaga
Atletico Madrid beginning XI: Jan Oblak, Jorge Dominguez, Robin Le Normand, David Hancko, Dani Martinez, Carlos Martin, Rodrigo Mendoza, Koke, Pablo Barrios, Arnau Ortiz, Ademola Lookman
Atleti substitutes: Juan Musso, Jose Maria Gimenez, Johnny Cardoso, Lee Kang-In, Alex Baena, Marcos Llorente, Marc Pubill, Giuliano Simeone, Alejandro Grimaldo, Morten Hjulmand, Cubo, Jorge Castillo
Malaga crew vs Atletico Madrid
Malaga beginning XI: Alfonso Herrero, Carlos Puga, Angel Recio, Einar Galilea, Rafita, David Larrubia, Carlos Dotor, Izan Merino, Dani Lorenzo, Joaquin Munoz, Chupe
Malaga substitutes: Alex Pastor, Ramon Enriquez, Haitam Abaida, Jose Salinas, Carlos Lopez, Rafa Rodriguez, Eneko Jauregi, Juan Cruz, Julen Lobete, Joseph Otu, Juani
