By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korean international Lee Kang-in made his much-anticipated Atletico Madrid debut on home soil Sunday, in front of thousands of adoring fans in his new team's shirts.

As a second-half substitute, Lee played the final 30 or so minutes of Atletico Madrid's 3-1 loss to Manchester City in their preseason match at Seoul World Cup Stadium.

Lee, one of the country's most popular athletes, joined Atleti in late July after three seasons with the French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Lee spent his teen years in Spain, having worked his way up from Valencia's youth academy and made his La Liga debut for their senior side at age 17. Lee also played for RCD Mallorca in Spain before his PSG spell and is now going back to a familiar country.

Lee was not able to travel out of South Korea after signing with Atleti due to some administrative holdup and ended up making his first appearance with the new club before about 50,000 fans in the South Korean capital.

This was the second of two matches in this year's Coupang Play Series, which brings popular European football clubs for preseason matches in South Korea each summer.

For this year, the first match pitted Man City against Team K League, a squad of All-Stars in the domestic league. Played on a weeknight amid unrelenting heat, the match drew only about 28,000 fans at the 66,000-seat Seoul World Cup Stadium -- the second-smallest crowd in the five-year history of this series.

With the temperature having dropped considerably Sunday and Lee playing for Atleti for the first time, Sunday's match had a completely different feel than the earlier contest.

There was a palpable buzz around the stadium hours before the 8 p.m. kickoff, with hundreds of supporters for both sides crowding the merchandise tents and concession stands.

For the match, fans formed a sea of Man City sky blue behind one goal and another of Atleti's red and white on the opposite side.

Lee, who was held out of the starting lineup by head coach Diego Simeone, drew applause when he walked into his dugout before kickoff and whenever he was shown on the stadium's two scoreboards during the first half. When he got up from his seat to start warming up in the opening moments of the second half, the crowd again erupted in cheers in anticipation.

As Lee finally took the field in the 63rd minute, the crowd brought the house down with a thunderous ovation.

Lee's first play with the club was a free kick he took soon after entering the match, though he sent the shot high and wide left. Lee sent another attempt high in the 76th minute after taking a pass from Arnau Sola.

Though Lee ultimately failed to alter the outcome of the contest, he still showcased the kind of offensive talent that made him a coveted target this summer.

After the match, Atletico Madrid held an on-field introduction ceremony for Lee. Spain national team legend David Villa, one-time Atletico Madrid striker now serving on their board of directors, presented Lee with the uniform.

jeeho@yna.co.kr

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