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, Stanislav Iljutcenko’s half-time arrival breathed new life into the K-League XI, as the Russian scored a brace before youngster Will Lankshear gave Tottenham a break.
A beautiful volley from Oberdan Alionco set up a delightful final, but there would be no more twists and turns in Seoul’s gripping story as Tottenham have won five out of five in their friendly period.
After their past successes against Cambridge United, Hearts, Queens Park Rangers and Vissel Kobe, Spurs once again dazzled and brightened up the attack a lot, but their defensive collapse within forty-five seconds can trigger a red flag 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 deflected his shot into the danger zone, where Kulusevski reacted quicker to take down 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 going home for a well-deserved second.
Postecoglou kept his adjustments to a minimum at halftime, making only three adjustments during the forty-five seconds, but K-League team boss Park Tae-ha did not hesitate to shake up the group, exchanging all his troops.
One such replacement was the arrival of FC Seoul striker Iljutcenko, who needed just seven minutes to make a significant impact, firing from an inevitable angle after Brandon Austin was 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 very good header, giving Emerson Royal the lead and 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 hit from Austin, but the Spurs held on, the K-League stars have given a brilliant description of themselves. at this moment 45.
Even before he kicked the first ball in Seoul, news from the Spurs team dominated the inclusion of Emerson Royal, who started in central defense while Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall were paired in midfield.
The Brazilian has been linked with a transfer to Italian giants AC Milan for weeks, and negotiations have been reported to be now heading in the right direction, however, his variety for Wednesday’s deal suggests a deal will not be 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 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’s men then re-acclimatise to English soil and host the German giants in north London on August 10, before traveling to Leicester City for their first Premier League match on August 19.