Eric Dier, Richarlison shine in Spurs 6-3 win over Team K League

Football

Published: 14 Jul. 2022, 15:48 Updated: 14 Jul. 2022, 17:41

Eric Dier, Richarlison shine in Spurs 6-3 win over Team K League

Tottenham's Son Heung-min, right, fights for the ball with Team K League's Kim Dong-min during an exhibition match between Tottenham Hotspur and Team K-league at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul on Wednesday. [AP/YONHAP]

Tottenham Hotspur’s 6-3 win over Team K League on Wednesday night at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul, offered an early glimpse of Antonio Conte’s latest invention: A strongly offensive side with some very promising moments, but one that was unable to avoid conceding a surprisingly high number of goals.

Wednesday’s exhibition game against a team of the Korean domestic league’s best players was the first pre-season action for Conte’s recently revamped Tottenham squad, which goes some way to explaining the high score and quiet first half.

Team K League also proved to be a surprisingly good team, especially considering they were a Frankenstein squad drawn from 12 separate clubs, and all three of their goals came from good offensive play rather than major issues with the Spurs defense.

Conte opted to bench some of his biggest names for the first half, starting the game off with Brandon Austin in goal, Davinson Sanchez, Cristian Romero and Eric Dier in defense, Emerson Royal, Rodrigo Bentancur, Oliver Skipp and Ryan Sessegnon in midfield and Bryan Gil, Richarlison and Lucas Moura out in front.

Harry Kane takes a shot during an exhibition game between Tottenham Hotspur and Team K League at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Wednesday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Over the full 90 minutes, practically every player on the Spurs bench would get their time on the pitch, with Hugo Lloris, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min all playing the entirety of the second half.

Dier was the only Tottenham player to find the back of the net in the first half, hammering home a beautiful left-footed effort from outside the box at the 30-minute mark.

The other five goals came in the second half, the first an own goal from the K League’s Kim Jin-hyuk and then two each for Son and Kane.

Only three of Spurs’ six goals came from open play: Dier’s first half left-footer, a Kane effort that saw the England captain pick up a cross from Moura just past the halfway line and thread his way through the defense to hammer the ball into the bottom right corner, and a confusing Son shot where a K League defender essentially passed him the ball in front of an open goal.

Son’s other goal came from a 68th minute penalty following a handball in the box — not a role he normally plays for Spurs, but one Kane seemed happy to give him in front of a vocal Korean crowd. Kane’s second goal came from a direct free kick just outside the box following an unfortunate red card.

Tottenham's Eric Dier scores his side's opening goal during an exhibition match between Tottenham Hotspur and Team K League at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoulon Wednesday. [AP/YONHAP]

Unpredictable score aside, Wednesday’s game offered some insight into how Spurs lineup for the new season.

One player of note was Dier, who is in the midst of something of a resurgence under Conte.

The English defender was all over the pitch, proving formidable in defense — although Yang Hyun-jun did run rings around him in one notable play at the end of the second half — and doing his part in the midfield as well, resulting in that well-deserved goal.

Speaking after the game, Team K League manager Kim Sang-sik seemed most impressed by Dier.

“It goes without saying that Son and Kane have this great partnership,” Kim Sang-sik said, “but I think Dier stood out. His defense was unbeatable against the K League and I can’t help but think it must be unbeatable in Europe as well.”

Tottenham's Richarlison is seen during an exhibition match between Tottenham Hotspur and Team K League at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo Distict, western Seoul on Wednesday. [AP/YONHAP]

Richarlison also put in a solid performance in his Tottenham debut, playing in all three offensive positions throughout the course of the game and harrowing the K League defense. The former Everton attacker wasn’t able to add a goal of his own, but had a few good opportunities and combined well with Brazil teammate Moura.

Speaking after the game, Conte was full of praise for the Brazilian, complimenting his versatility and the opportunities he created.

"I have seen a lot of positive things about Richy," Conte said. "He played number nine then in the second half he played on the right, and behind the striker, he can play all three positions. He is a good character, we are working on the tactical aspect and at the same time we are working on the physical aspect."

The only Tottenham player to have a genuinely concerning start to the preseason was Davinson Sanchez, who managed to be in some way responsible for all three of Team K League’s goals — he failed to mark Cho Gue-sung for the first, deflected Lars Veldwijk shot into the net for the second and gave away the free kick for Jun Amano’s third.

Davinson Sanchez fights for the ball with Cho Gue-sung during an exhibition game between Tottenham Hotspur and Team K League at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Tottenham will be back in action on Saturday as they face La Liga club Sevilla in the final game of the Coupang Play Series at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]