Bayern Munich beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in Seoul presason friendly

Football

Bayern Munich beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in Seoul presason friendly

Published: 03 Aug. 2024, 22:04 Updated: 03 Aug. 2024, 23:31

Son Heung-min breaks through in a match against Bayern Munich at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul Saturday during the 2024 Coupang Play Series. [NEWS1]

Bayern Munich beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in their preseason friendly in front of a lively crowd at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul Saturday, setting the stage for a competitive rematch in London next week.

The pitch saw plenty of fresh legs as both sides finalize details before their season openers, and Bayern held onto their early magic for a win over their Premier League opponents on the German club’s Korea debut.

There was hardly an empty seat in the stadium, with red concentrated at Bayern’s end of the pitch and Tottenham’s white the dominant shade everywhere else.

A magenta FC Bayern Munchen and cerulean Tottenham Hotspur banner replaced the ones for home team FC Seoul that typically hang from the open-roofed stadium.

The stands roared to life when announcers introduced the players before kickoff. The large screens on either side of the stadium found Bayern’s Kim Min-jae and Tottenham’s Son Heung-min, with the Korean national team cornerstones drawing an even bigger cheer. The cameras also found Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou and fresh-legged Bayern boss Vincent Kompany meeting for a brief exchange on the sidelines.

But the loudest rumble was perhaps for K-pop girl group New Jeans, the half-time performers, as they stepped onto the pitch before kickoff. Each member took a shot toward Bayern’s starting XI, eliciting shouts of varied volume depending on how high up they got the ball.

Girl group NewJeans take turns kicking the ball ahead of the match between Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Saturday. [NEWS1]

The 63,496-large crowd roared the game into play, shouting the five-second countdown in Korean.

Bayern nearly drew first blood in the first minute, but the attempt by Serge Gnabry off a cross from Thomas Muller went over the crossbar.

Though it didn’t take long for the German club to make the first dent on the scoresheet, with Gnabry slotting the ball into the goal from the right side of the box as Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario failed to make a second block.

Despite Bayern’s early work, the loudest cheers were for Spurs and Korea captain Son as he took his first crack at the net in the seventh minute, though his attempt soared over the crossbar.

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min breaks through in a Couopang Play Series match against Bayern Munich at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul Saturday. [NEWS1[

A small group of Bayern fans started chanting intermittently throughout the game, but their cheers were whispers compared to what might exist at a game in Munich or anywhere in Germany or even across Europe. Spurs supporters cheered but failed to really match the energy, though the two ends of the stadium did engage in one “Ba-yern, Tot-ten-ham” shout-back.

Bayern center-back Kim directly defended against Son, going head-to-head with his Korean national team captain at several points during the first half.

Bayern Munich's Kim Min-jae, left, and Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min play during a Coupang Play Series match at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul Saturday. [YONHAP]

The crowd came alive every time Son did anything, just as they did when Spurs played Team K League in their first match of this year’s Coupang Play Series, and there was a collective groan whenever a Tottenham player did not pass to their captain when it seemed they theoretically could.

It was one-nil before the first break — the cooling break, as both sides took a FIFA-regulated pause due to the persistent humidity and summer heat in Seoul. Some fans took the chance to snag a selfie in the aisles with the European clubs hydrating as their background.

Son came close right before stoppage time, zeroing in on the goal from the left, but the attempt was headed away by Bayern’s back line.

And Bayern headed into the break up 1-0.

Most people stayed seated for half-time, with NewJeans returning to the pitch as players stretched and stayed warm on either side of the pitch. Still, there were plenty of turned heads as players stole glances — or contributed a dance move, in one Bayern player’s case — in the middle of a smoke-machine adorned performance “Attention.”

The two sides cracked on after halftime with a couple big Bayern changes, Kompany switching out Manuel Neuer for Sven Ulreich in goal and giving Kim the captain’s armband.

Kim came off the pitch a few minutes later, with Kompany resting the defender early on in the second half. Kim recently returned to training at Bayern after a late-season injury, which also took him out of two of Korea’s World Cup qualifiers. Cheers bounced around the stadium came as Kim was substituted off, the defender taking a bow before heading to the bench.

Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae bows to fans before exiting the pitch during the second half of the match against Tottenham Hotspur at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul Saturday. [YONHAP]

And Bayern fans had even more to clap about as Leon Goretzka made things 2-0 for the German club, outrunning Tottenham’s back line

Spurs had perhaps their best chance of the night when Emerson Royal took the ball down the center of the pitch with only Ulreich in goal in the 60th minute, but Emerson’s shot found only Ulreich’s gloves.

Spurs supporters picked up the energy, with a scattered but audible cheer coming from behind the net.

And maybe that was what the north Londoners needed as Spurs denied Bayern a clean sheet in the next minute, Pedro Porro shooting in Tottenham’s first goal of the night.

Soon after, Seoul World Cup Stadium heard its first surround-sound boo of the night, with fans enraged at something some Bayern player appeared to do against Son.

Another cooling break later, it was Son’s turn to take the bench, with the Spurs captain substituted off for Timo Werner, Oliver Skipp getting the armband.

Spurs captain Son Heung-min claps before being substituted off the pitch in the second half of a match against Bayern Munich at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul. [NEWS1]

Both sides had big chances — and Ulreich and Vicario big saves — before the final whistle, but Spurs failed to create some eleventh hour magic to hold their Bundesliga opponents to a draw.

Spurs next host Bayern at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Aug. 10.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]