Lee Kang-in (22, Mallorca) scored his 6th goal, recording double-digit attack points in one season for the first time since advancing to the Spanish professional football Primera Liga (La Liga).
Lee Kang-in scored the opening goal in the 13th minute of the second half of the La Liga round 32 home game against Athletic Bilbao held at Estadi Mallorca Sonmosi in Mallorca, Spain on the 2nd (Korean time).
6th goal in the league this season (4 assists). This is the first time Lee Kang-in has stepped on the 10 offensive points mark in a season since his professional debut. Lee Kang-in is the first Korean player to record double-digit attack points in one season in La Liga. It is a valuable achievement achieved in five seasons after making his professional debut in the Valencia (Spain) uniform in the 2018-19 season when he was 18 years old. Mallorca scored a penalty kick just before the end to tie the game 1-1. The ranking remained at 12th.
Lee Kang-in, who started as a left midfielder, played the role of ‘starting point’ and ‘finishing’ of the attack at the same time in the scoring scene. Lee Kang-in, who overcame the opponent’s pressure with exquisite ball control from the left side below the half line, immediately stabbed Amas Ndiaye on the other side with a diagonal long pass and ran toward the penalty box. 스포츠토토
Ndiaye crossed to Bedat Muriki, who was in front of the goal, and Lee Kang-in, who received the ball from Muriki, shook the net with a strong left-footed shot. In the 40th minute of the second half, Lee Kang-in, who was replaced by Antonio Sanchez, received a standing ovation from the home fans. Whoscored.com, a soccer statistics site, gave Lee Kang-in a high rating of 8.42, the highest among both teams. Lee Kang-in scored 3 goals in his last 3 matches, including a multi-goal against Getafe in the 30th round.
After the game, Lee Kang-in was nominated for the midfielder category for the ‘Team of the Year’ announced by the La Liga Secretariat. A total of 47 candidates were released that day (11 strikers, 18 midfielders, 13 defenders, 5 goalkeepers). Lee Kang-in competes with world-class midfielders Luka Modric and Toni Kroos (above Real Madrid).
La Liga social media posted Lee Kang-in’s photo and Korean name that day and wrote, “The shining Korean (soccer) king.” Mallorca coach Javier Aguire said, “Lee Kang-in is showing his best performance since April last year when I took over. I am happy to be with you.”