Atletico Madrid ended a two-game losing streak with a late scoring burst Sunday, beating Real Sociedad 3-0 after Lee Kang-in came off in a triple substitution.
All three goals arrived from the 84th minute onward at Reale Arena in San Sebastian, Spain. The victory followed defeats to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga and Liverpool in the Champions League.
Lee started on the right, with Alex Baena on the opposite flank and Ademola Lookman leading the attack. The South Korean cut inside for a left-footed effort five minutes into the match and delivered a cross toward Morten Hjulmand in the 24th minute.
Those moments failed to translate into a breakthrough. With Atletico's attack struggling, coach Diego Simeone replaced Lee, Baena and Marcos Llorente with Johnny Cardoso, Jonathan David and Koke on the hour.
Lee had also been withdrawn around the same point in the previous league match against Bilbao, leaving him with another shortened appearance.
The breakthrough eventually came from the penalty spot. After Sociedad's Job Ochieng was penalized for handball, Alejandro Grimaldo converted in the 84th minute.
David doubled the lead five minutes later, collecting the ball centrally and getting past a defender before finishing with his left foot. Giuliano Simeone added the third following a surging run in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Simeone said afterward that the substitutions helped Atletico gain control in midfield, while acknowledging that the decisions would have drawn criticism had his team failed to win.
He explained that Lookman and Lee's greater experience playing together had influenced his starting lineup. David nevertheless made a strong case for himself off the bench, earning praise from the coach for his performance and composure in front of goal.
Simeone also pointed to the different options the forwards offered. Lee frequently received possession facing away from goal and struggled to find space, while David's runs behind the defense gave Atletico another way to attack.
Through five rounds of league play, Lee has recorded one goal and one assist.
(This article was produced with the assistance of AI. — Ed.)
