Tottenham 1-1 Sevilla — Spurs end Korea tour with draw in Suwon

Football

Published: 16 Jul. 2022, 22:25 Updated: 17 Jul. 2022, 14:05

Tottenham 1-1 Sevilla — Spurs end Korea tour with draw in Suwon

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min applauds the crowd at the end of a friendly against Sevilla at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Saturday. [YONHAP]

SUWON, Gyeonggi — As friendlies go, Tottenham Hotspur and Sevilla's exhibition game at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Saturday evening was fairly unfriendly, with increasingly physical tackles, a number of heated clashes and a lot of pushing and shoving to end the first half.

While Wednesday's match between Tottenham and Team K League was a 6-3 goal-fest and a chance for both sides to show off their skills, Saturday's game against Sevilla exhibited a very different side of football: A rough and ready clash between two teams that finished within the top four of two of Europe's biggest leagues.

Perhaps fittingly, the game ended in a 1-1 draw, with Harry Kane and Ivan Rakitic both finding the back of the net. Son Heung-min, got the assist on Kane's goal, giving the 43,998 Korean fans something to cheer about.

Despite the drama, it was a fairly uneventful first half, ending at 0-0 with few real opportunities for either side.

Sevilla controlled the pace of the game for most of the first half, with 65 percent of the ball and six shots to Spurs' two.

Tottenham had a couple of moments of excitement: A goal for Kane that was later ruled offside and a couple of efforts for Son Heung-min, one of which was Spurs' sole shot on target for the first half.

Recent addition Richarlison struggled to overcome some aggressive man marking and ended up at the center of practically every altercation. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg also seemed to struggle in the first half, giving away possession multiple times right in front of the Tottenham goal.

But perhaps the most worrying performance of the first half came from referee Ko Hyung-jin.

Ko, who did not referee the Team K League match, appeared to regularly struggle to keep up with the pace of play, occasionally getting in the way — at one point he actually deflected the ball down the pitch — and making a number of late or questioning calls.

Tottenham Hotspur and Sevilla players clash in the center circle after the whistle blew at the end of the first half of a friendly at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Saturday. [NEWS1]

Both the Tottenham and Sevilla squads likely got a fairly serious talking to at half time about exhibition game etiquette — it took less than 20 minutes of play to get Tottenham manager Antonio Conte off the bench and angrily pacing the side of the pitch on Saturday, a far cry from Wednesday's 90 minutes seated.

Those team talks seemed to do the trick. Both teams returned after the break looking considerably calmer and more connected. A series of substitutions seemed to take some of the more confrontational players off the pitch and the game quickly settled down.

Harry Kane, left, and Son Heung-min celebrate after Kane scores the opening goal in a friendly between Tottenham Hotspur and Sevilla at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Spurs broke through first in the 49th minute, with Son flicking the ball onto Kane at the edge of the box as he was brought down on the run. Kane turned a couple of meters off the line and slammed the ball past the Sevilla goalkeeper to take the score to 1-0.

Sevilla equalized in the 63rd minute, when Rakitic fired the ball through a crowded box and into the back of the net.

Son, Kane, Hugo Lloris and Hjojberg all left the pitch in the 71st minute, and the game settled down into a fairly gentle back and forth for the last 20 minutes of the game.

It was all smiles when the whistle blew at 90 minutes, with both teams taking a lap of honor and Son stopping at every stand to personally thank the fans.

There was no rush for the doors, with the organizers allowing fans to stay in the stadium as the Coupang Play Series officially ended with half the Spurs squad still doing some training sprints on the pitch.

"We faced a team that qualified for the Champions League, and we had five or six reserve players on the field," Sevilla FC head coach Julen Lopetegui said after the match on Saturday.

"We executed the plays that we wanted to against such a strong team. Despite the result, I think we played a good match."

On the Spurs side, Eric Dier and Ryan Sessegnon were the only players to play the full 90 minutes, both acquitting themselves well. Rodrigo Bentancur also had a solid second half in midfield and Dejan Kulusevski got in a full 45 minutes on his return from injury.

"It was a game played with intensity," said Spurs manager Antonio Conte after the match on Saturday.

"One side, the other side, great pressure from both sides, my opinion is that it wasn't a 'friendly' game, it was a real game.

"Then, I have seen positive things. For sure, we have to try to improve in other aspects but, after this week in Korea, I am very happy, we worked very well and showed a great attitude, great commitment, great desire to prepare for a good season."

With the Coupang Play Series now complete, Spurs will fly back to London on Sunday to resume their preseason training. They will next face Rangers in a friendly on July 23.

BY JIM BULLEY AND YUN SO-HYANG [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]