Mallorca's Lee Kang-in scores winning goal against former club Valencia

Mallorca's Lee Kang-in, right, vies for the ball with Valencia's Thierry Correia during a La Liga game at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, Spain on Saturday. [EPA/YONHAP]

Lee Kang-in knows Mestalla Stadium in Valencia well. He spent half his life at the club, arriving when he was 10 years old and slowly working his way up the ranks until they dropped him in August last year.

The 21-year-old went back for a visit on Saturday, scoring the winning goal for RCD Mallorca in a 2-1 upset that handed his old side their first loss in six games.

It was a heated clash at Mestalla with eight yellow cards and two of the three goals coming from penalties. La Liga games are fiery at the best of time, and — although there’s the small matter of 300 kilometers (186 miles) of Balearic Sea in the way — Valencia and Villareal are the closest thing Mallorca has to local rivals in the league.

After a goalless first half, Valencia drew first blood in the 52nd minute after Samuel Lino was brought down in the box by Antonio Sánchez. Edinson Cavani took the spot kick, beating Predrag Rajković with a ball fired straight down the middle to take the score to 1-0.

Mallorca didn’t have to wait long for the exact same thing to play out at the other end of the pitch. Amath Ndiaye Diedhiou was brought down by a late tackle from Nico González in the box in the 63rd minute, resulting in a penalty for the visitors and an easy goal for Vedat Muriqi.

Lee’s chance to give Mallorca the lead came in the 83rd minute.

Picking up a pass from Dani Rodríguez just inside the box, Lee took a couple of steps to work his way around two defenders before stopping and hammering the ball home from the edge of the six-yard box. The ball may have taken a slight deflection off Gabriel Paulista to help it on its way, although from that distance it’s unlikely Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili would have stood much of a chance.

Following the goal, Lee forwent the normal celebration in a move that was interpreted as a show of deference to his former team.

Lee joined Mallorca on a four-year deal on Aug. 30 last year after Valencia terminated his contract, ending a decade-long career at the club that started when he joined the academy at just 10 years old.

Lee joined Valencia in 2011 and made the move up to the A team in 2018. In the 2020-21 season, Lee made 27 appearances for the club, many of them from the bench, but scored only one goal. But his failure to establish himself at the club was seen more of a case of untapped potential than a lack of skill.

Speaking after the game, Lee said that it felt strange to score against the club that he had called home for a decade, thanking Valencia fans for their support during his time there.

With Saturday’s goal, Lee now has two goals and three assists across 11 La Liga games so far this season.

Lee got off to a phenomenal start to the 2022-23 season, tying his offensive record for the entirety of the 2021-22 season in the first four games.

That achievement saw him nominated for La Liga Player of the Month in August, although his performance has quietened down since then. Lee picked up his last assist on Sept. 11.

Lee also discussed his recent performance during his post-match interview, saying that while he believes he has improved since the international break — when he was called up by Korean national team head coach Paulo Bento but never got a chance to play — he hasn’t seen that impact the results on the pitch until the Valencia game.

Mallorca will play their next La Liga game against Espanyol at home at the Visit Mallorca Stadium in Mallorca on Friday.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]