Ange Postecoglou’s men threatened to slip away in the first forty-five minutes, when Dejan Kulusevski shed first blood before home favourites Son Heung-min scored a brilliant brace to put all three Lilywhites targets in the paint for half-time leads. .
However, the half-time arrival of Stanislav Iljutcenko breathed new life into the K-League XI, as the Russian scored a quick brace before youngster Will Lankshear gave Tottenham fresh breathing room.
A fine volley from Oberdan Alionco set up a tantalising finish, but there would be no more twists and turns in Seoul’s thrilling history as Tottenham managed five wins out of five in their friendly period.
After past successes against Cambridge United, Hearts, Queens Park Rangers and Vissel Kobe, Spurs once came back dazzled and extremely cheerful on offense, but their defensive dugout in forty-five inside seconds may sound an alarm bell 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 did not disappoint the waiting 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 stuck with his same old tricks on the left side and received his decision on the scoresheet 8 minutes later, spinning and spinning his marker before finding the best corner of a sublime shot right on the side. 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 going home for a well-deserved second.
Postecoglou kept his adjustments to a minimum during the half, making only 3 adjustments by the 45th moment, but K-League team boss Park Tae-ha did not hesitate to shake up the platoon, replacing all his troops. Training
One such change was the arrival of FC Seoul striker Iljutcenko, who needed just seven minutes to make a significant impact, firing in from an unmissable angle after Brandon Austin had barely stopped 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 the first ball was kicked in Seoul, Spurs team news dominated the inclusion of Emerson Royal, who started in central defense while Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall partnered in midfield.
The Brazilian has been linked with a move to Italian giants AC Milan for weeks, and it has been reported that negotiations are now heading in the right direction, however his appearance for Wednesday’s deal suggests a deal will not be imminent.
Whether Emerson believes he can revive his career at Tottenham, only he and Postecoglou know, but he did himself no favors with the K-League side’s second goal, where he looked absolutely amazed at the move. ‘Iljutcenko.
After two games on tour of 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 opponent 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.