Lee Kang-In and Alex Baena both produced second-half stunners as Diego Simeone’s side secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Malaga to open their 2026-27 LaLiga campaign in winning fashion.
Match Report
Lee, a summer signing from Paris Saint-Germain, broke the deadlock in the 70th minute with a superb strike into the top-left corner. Baena then went one better shortly afterwards.
After winning a free-kick on the edge of the box, Baena dusted himself down and curled a brilliant effort over the wall and in off the crossbar to seal all three points for Atletico on Wednesday.
The first shot on target did not arrive until the 35th minute, when Rodrigo Mendoza’s effort was pushed away by Malaga goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero.
At the other end, Jan Oblak, making his 400th LaLiga appearance, was called into action soon after. He first denied Chupe before making a low save at his far post to keep out David Larrubia, although the offside flag had already been raised.
Atletico came out strongly after the break, but it was substitute Lee who finally found the breakthrough. The South Korean collected David Hancko’s long pass on the right, cut inside three Malaga defenders and unleashed a sensational strike beyond Herrero.
Five minutes from time, Baena produced another moment of individual brilliance on his first Atletico appearance since helping Spain win the World Cup. He curled a superb free-kick against the woodwork and into the net to double the hosts’ advantage.
Brilliant Baena and lively Lee help Atletico get over the line
Atletico were tested repeatedly by Malaga for much of their LaLiga opener, with the visitors playing their first top-flight game since 2017-18. However, Simeone’s options from the bench ultimately proved decisive.
Baena’s goal saw him become the first Spanish player to score directly from a free-kick for Atletico in LaLiga since Antonio Lopez against Real Zaragoza in October 2009. It was also his second direct free-kick goal in the competition from 18 attempts.
Lee also made a strong impression. After limited playing time at PSG due to the club’s star-studded attacking options, he showed Atletico supporters what he can bring, becoming the club’s third-youngest foreign scorer on a LaLiga debut in the 21st century at 25 years and 181 days.
He also ended the match with team-high joint totals for chances created (three, level with Mendoza) and tackles won (three, level with Hancko).
The victory extended Atletico’s winning streak against Malaga in the top flight to six matches, with the Madrid side keeping five clean sheets during that run.
Malaga continued to threaten in the final third but struggled to respond after falling behind. They recorded an expected goals (xG) figure of just 0.15 from five shots, compared with Atletico’s 0.82 from six attempts.
