K League stars stun Atletico Madrid in 3-2 upset

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K League stars stun Atletico Madrid in 3-2 upset

Published: 27 Jul. 2023, 22:13

Anton Kryvotsyuk heads in Team K League's first game in a Coupang Play Series clash with Atletico Madrid at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Team K League, a cobbled together squad of players that had never stepped foot on a pitch together before this week, beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 in a dramatic upset at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Thursday.

Led by Ulsan Hyundai manager Hong Myung-bo, the K League’s Frankenstein’s monster of a team capitalized on a dominant second half to pull off the unexpected upset against the La Liga third-place finishers.

Tomorrow the K League stars will all go their own ways, returning to their own clubs and the ongoing season as if they did not just topple a European giant on home soil.

It really was a game of two halves in Seoul, with Atletico controlling most of the first half but struggling against a reinforced Team K League in the second half with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Thomas Lemar and Koke on the bench.

Atletico got off to a fast start, with Thomas Lemar hammering in the La Liga club’s first goal in the 12th minute on a quick counterattack after a K League corner.

The rest of the first half was far more balanced. Team K League created plenty of their own opportunities, even if they were unable to deliver when it counted.

Lee Seung-woo and Paik Seung-ho, both young players with European experience, had been expected to lead the offense, but both failed to do much in front of goal to impress their international audience.

The pair, both products of the Barcelona academy, appeared to put their language skills to good use, however, jumping in to diffuse disputes between their teammates and the Spanish-speaking players.

Although Team K League did not exist two days ago and will not exist tomorrow, the one thing the cobbled-together club seems to have got the hang of is the offside trap. Three separate goals were called offside throughout the first half, saving K League from a far bigger deficit.

With neither team able to get anything else across — or at least get it across and stay onside — the half ended with the score at 1-0 for Atletico.

Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann reacts during a Coupang Play Series game against Team K League at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Thursday. [NEWS1]

The addition of the K League international stars in the second half quickly turned the tables.

Anton Kryvotsyuk tied things up in the 49th minute, heading in a Cesinha cross to take the score to 1-1.

Atletico took the lead again in the 84th minute with a Carlos Martin goal, only for K League to level things out again with a penalty in the 88th minute.

Pushing into injury times with the score tied, Lee Soon-min hammered in a shot from outside the box to give the K League a last second victory and leave Atletico with their first-even game on Korean soil ending in disaster.

The 50,000-strong crowd — unsurprisingly — went wild, and Team K League stayed on the pitch for a very slow lap of honor after the final whistle blew. Atletico, meanwhile, headed straight down the tunnel and back to the changing rooms.

Thursday’s game was the first of two for Atletico Madrid in the Coupang Play Series, with the Spanish club still set to face European champions Manchester City at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sunday. The series will then pivot to the south, with Paris Saint-German playing Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Aug. 3.

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