Mallorca crowns new king as Lee Kang-in gets a brace in 3-1 win

Lee Kang-in became the first Korean footballer ever to score two goals in one La Liga game on Sunday, bagging a brace to lead Mallorca to a 3-1 victory over Getafe in a performance the club summed up in one word: “King.”

Mallorca midfielder Lee Kang-in celebrates after scoring his second goal in a 3-1 win against Getafe in a La Liga match at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix in Mallorca, Spain on Sunday. [EPA/YONHAP]

Lee Kang-in became the first Korean footballer ever to score two goals in one La Liga game on Sunday, bagging a brace to lead Mallorca to a 3-1 victory over Getafe in a performance the club summed up in one word: “King.”

Lee struck twice in the second half when Mallorca were already down 1-0, tying things up in the 56th minute and then securing goal No. 3 in stoppage time. He was the only member of the Mallorca offensive line that played the full 90 minutes.

Mallorca fell behind in the first half early at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix in Mallorca, Spain, conceding a 23rd-minute goal to Borja Mayoral. Getafe held on to that lead for the rest of the first half, entering the break 1-0 up.

Lee struck quickly at the top of the second half, hammering in a left-footed effort in the 56th minute, setting the stage for Antonio Raíllo to put the home side ahead eight minutes later.

Lee’s second goal was even more spectacular. Picking the ball up well within his own half, Lee dribbled the length of the pitch, outpacing the Getafe defense to arrive in the box on his own. Lee took a couple of steps into the box before smashing another left footed shot over the keeper’s outstretched arms and into the back of the net.

A post uploaded on the official Mallorca Twitter page Sunday shows a picture of Lee Kang-in with the caption, ″King.″ [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Lee’s goal — reminiscent of Son Heung-min’s famous run against Burnley in 2019 — gave Mallorca some insurance, putting the home side up 3-1 when the whistle blew moments later.

Lee was named man of the match for the second game in a row, having also impressed in Mallorca’s 1-0 win over Celta Vigo a week earlier. That game also earned him a spot in WhoScored.com’s Best XI for Europe, while this week’s performance prompted the official La Liga Twitter account to upload a tribute post referring to Lee as “The Architect.”

According to statistics accumulator Opta, Lee completed nine successful runs in the game against Celta Vigo, the most completed by any Mallorca player in a single game since 2009. That same ability to hold on to the ball was on display for Lee’s second goal this week, with his solo run stretching well past the half-way line.

A post uploaded on the official La Liga Twitter page Sunday shows a photo of Lee Kang-in with the caption, ″The Architect of the victory.″ [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Lee’s ability to keep hold of the ball has long been a major factor in his game. In 2021 he completed 10 runs in a game against Celta Vigo while playing for Valencia, and that season the Center for International Sports Research ranked him as the top player under 21 in the big five European leagues for dribble success rate.

With eight games left in the La Liga season, the focus on Lee is again increasing ahead of the summer transfer window. Mallorca reportedly received multiple offers for Lee in January but refused to entertain them, but the amount of attention expected this summer will be a lot harder to ignore.

Lee joined Mallorca two years ago after a decade in Valencia and has been having a particularly good season, scoring two goals and picking up four assists so far and earning a player of the month nomination along the way.

Lee has established himself an especially effective playmaker, using fancy footwork to beat defenders and his impressive accuracy to get the ball up to the front.

That skill was on display in Qatar, where he very quickly made a name for himself, appearing in all four games and making a mark in his World Cup debut against Uruguay, when Lee and Cho Gue-sung came on as late substitutes and immediately breathed new life into a flagging team.

Against Ghana, Lee came on in the 57th minute and within less than a minute he had driven a beautiful cross into the box for Cho to head home.

That one-minute assist likely turned more than a few heads in Europe’s big five leagues, where attention has already been on the young midfielder. It also earned Lee a spot on the list of youngest assist providers at the Qatar World Cup, coming in as the fourth youngest.

Lee has only ever played for two clubs, both in Spain. He has long been a fan favorite back home, where he has been seen as the future of Korean football since starring on TV show “Fly Shoot Dori” at just six years old.

He moved to Valencia a few years after that appearance and spent 10 years in the academy before being dropped in 2021 and moving to Mallorca.

The long list of teams reportedly interested in signing Lee this summer includes Premier League sides Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle and Brighton.

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