Ćolo started with eight Spaniards, Malaga with all 11 - masters Li and Baena cheered up Metropolitano

Atletico Madrid starts La Liga with a 2-0 win over Malaga at the Metropolitano

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Beana and Li Kang-In solved Malaga, Photo: Reuters
Beana and Li Kang-In solved Malaga, Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

A match between one of the strongest leagues in Europe, a country of world champions, and 19 out of 22 homegrown players on the field - something you don't see often in today's football, even in much weaker championships.

Atletico Madrid and Malaga, a returnee to the elite, played their first round match at the "Metropolitan", the home team won 2:0, and what attracted attention in this duel was the number of Spanish football players.

Diego Simeone started with eight players (there were also some from the B team), and his colleague on the other side, Juan Francisco Funes, with all 11, as the Andalusian club relies on its Academy.

The only "foreigners" for the "colçoneros" were Jan Oblak (playing his 400th match in La Liga), David Hancko and Ademola Lukman, while Malaga had two of them throughout the entire protocol.

However, the magic of the match required a move from a master from South Korea. Lee Kang-In arrived from Paris Saint-Germain, got his chance in the second half and immediately scored on his debut - brilliantly, after breaking in from the right and shooting with his left foot.

The victory at the start of the new season was put to an end by world champion Alex Baena - the guy who was one of Spain's most important players at this summer's World Cup scored a masterful free kick.

A nice start to the season for Atletico and a good sign for the derby against Villarreal this weekend.

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