Ange Postecoglou’s men threatened to break away in the opening forty-five minutes, as Dejan Kulusevski drew first blood before home favorites Son Heung-min scored a brilliant brace to put all three of the Lilywhites’ goals in the paint to get advantages at rest. .
However, Stanislav Iljutcenko’s half-time arrival breathed new life into the K-League XI, as the Russian scored a quick brace before youngster Will Lankshear gave Tottenham some breathing room.
A beautiful volley from Oberdan Alionco set up a delightful finale, but there would be no more twists and turns in Seoul’s gripping history, as Tottenham have won five out of five in their friendly period.
After past successes against Cambridge United, Hearts, Queens Park Rangers and Vissel Kobe, Spurs once returned dazzled and extremely cheerful in attack, but their defensive cave in forty-five seconds inside may sound an alarm or two .
There were no prizes for guessing which Tottenham player stole the pre-match fanfare, as Son Heung-min enjoyed the typical hero’s welcome in Seoul and didn’t disappoint the expecting crowd.
The South Korean player played an important role in Spurs’ first goal in the 29th minute, when Hyeon-woo Jo stopped his shot in the danger zone, where Kulusevski reacted faster to clear the K-League goalkeeper.
After betting as a passer, Son was up to his same old tricks on the left side and got his call on the scoreboard 8 minutes later, twisting and turning his marker before locating the most sensible corner with a sublime shot just wide. box.
The icing on the cake came in first-half stoppage time, where Son and Kulusevski’s devastating central combination ended with the former beating a K-League defender as if he wasn’t even there, before quietly returning home for a good goal. deserved second.
Postecoglou kept his adjustments to a minimum for the half, making only 3 adjustments for the time being 45, but the head of the K-League team, Park Tae-ha, did not hesitate to shake up the platoon, replacing all his troops. Formation
One such change was the arrival of FC Seoul striker Iljutcenko, who needed just seven minutes to make a significant impact, firing from an unmissable angle after Brandon Austin was barely able to stop an attempt in his path.
Just two minutes after clearing Spurs’ blank goal, Iljutcenko strangely reduced the deficit to one with a good header, making Emerson Royal’s mistake and landing a well-placed cross from the right.
Lankshear, taking advantage of a cross from Timo Werner, allowed the Spurs to breathe a little easier, until Alionco scored a magnificent volley after a strike from Austin, but the Spurs held on, the stars of the K-League have given a brilliant description of themselves. at this time 45.
Even before he kicked the first ball in Seoul, news of the Spurs team dominated the inclusion of Emerson Royal, who started in center defense while Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall teamed up in midfield.
The Brazilian has been linked with a move to Italian giants AC Milan for weeks, with talks reported to be heading in the right direction, but his selection for Wednesday’s match suggests a deal is not imminent.
If Emerson thinks he can revive his career at Tottenham, only he and Postecoglou know, but he didn’t do himself any favours with the K-League side’s second goal, where he was absolutely amazed at the move. ‘Iljutcenko.
After two games on tour in Asia, Tottenham will conclude their stopover in South Korea on Saturday at the World Cup stadium in Seoul, where Bayern Munich will be their toughest rival so far.
Postecoglou then reacclimatised to English soil and hosted the German giants in north London on 10 August, before travelling to Leicester City for their Premier League opener on 19 August.