Sports

South Korean Defender Lee Han-beom Debuts in Champions League During Club Brugge's Loss to Aston Villa

By Edwin Choi

South Korean defender Lee Han-beom made his first appearance in the main Champions League competition on Tuesday, playing all 90 minutes as Club Brugge fell 3-2 to Aston Villa at home in Bruges, Belgium. Lee lined up at center back for the match. He joined Club Brugge last month after previously moving to Europe in 2023 to play for Denmark's Midtjylland, where he had featured in Europa League matches and Champions League qualifying rounds but never in the tournament proper. Since arriving at Club Brugge, Lee has started in all five of the team's league matches this season. In Tuesday's game, Aston Villa's John McGinn opened the scoring in the 11th minute, but Hugo Vetlesen equalized for Brugge just eight minutes later. Villa then pulled ahead before halftime with goals from Emiliano Buendia and Nicolas Jackson, taking a 3-1 lead into the break. Nicolo Tresoldi scored for Brugge in the second half from a penalty kick, but it wasn't enough to secure a result. Statistics from FotMob showed Lee completed 95 of 100 passes, won all four aerial duels he contested, and took three of five ground duels, earning a match rating of 6.6. In other Champions League action, Porto's Hwang In-beom entered as a substitute in the 68th minute during his team's 2-0 home defeat to Manchester City, with both goals scored by Erling Haaland. Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 2-1, with goals coming from Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde. Borussia Dortmund won 3-2 against Villarreal, Real Betis triumphed 3-2 over Lille, and AEK Athens secured a narrow 1-0 victory over LASK.