Sevilla 1-1 Tottenham: Player ratings as Spurs held to draw in South Korea
By Sean Walsh
Tottenham rounded off their tour of South Korea with a 1-1 draw against an aggressive Sevilla side.
The Spanish outfit played with bite and aggression in a blood and thunder pre-season friendly and managed to hold Antonio Conte's men in Suwon.
A teasing cross from Richarlison was just too heavy for Ryan Sessegnon to meet on the other flank before Son Heung-min's curling effort from 20 yards sailed wide as Spurs started on top.
Harry Kane had the ball in the net following a blistering strike from distance, but he was returning from an offside position and the goal was chalked off.
At the other end, Papu Gomez forced Hugo Lloris into a stretching save with a bouncing shot from the edge of the penalty area.
Spurs' best chance of the opening half hour came when Sessegnon's pinpoint cross was met by Son, but his header was easily held by Marko Dmitrovic.
Ex-Tottenham forward Erik Lamela struck Lloris' post with a sweet half-volley just before the break, while a mistake from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg set Rafa Mir through on goal - but he could only find the side netting.
Substitute Dejan Kulusevski should have broken the deadlock just after the interval after being picked out by Son on the counter, but the Swede scuffed his shot.
Tottenham took the lead soon after when Son managed to weave his way between two Sevilla defenders and teed up Kane just as he fell under a tackle, and the England captain made no mistake from 12 yards out.
Sevilla were incensed that they weren't awarded a penalty when Oliver Torres came under two challenges from Emerson Royal and Rodrigo Bentancur, but replays suggested both got a piece of the ball before the man.
The Spanish side found a leveller through Ivan Rakitic, whose thunderous strike from 20 yards found Lloris' top corner.
Kulusevski nearly fired Spurs back in front with a wicked left foot strike at the other end, while Ivan Romero spurned a great chance to win it late on after a mis-kick from substitute stopper Brandon Austin, rolling his shot agonisingly wide.
Disclaimer: This was a pre-season friendly. Try not to draw too many conclusions.
Sevilla vs Tottenham Hotspur player ratings
1. Tottenham Hotspur (3-4-3)
GK: Hugo Lloris - 5/10 - Rarely tested. Played from the back fairly well.
CB: Cristian Romero - 6/10 - Was probably the most comfortable of Spurs' centre-backs.
CB: Eric Dier - 6/10 - Distribution wasn't amazing but made it hard for Mir to score when released by Hojbjerg.
CB: Davinson Sanchez - 4/10 - Looked overly aggressive and rash once again.
RM: Lucas Moura - 6/10 - Looked natural again at wing-back. Even popped up in his own box to clear crosses.
CM: Oliver Skipp - 6/10 - Worked hard, pressed well and kept possession ticking.
CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 2/10 - Continually called for the ball in acres of space only to pass it sideways or lose it. Singlehandedly created Sevilla's best chance.
LM: Ryan Sessegnon - 6/10 - Created Spurs' best opening of the first half. Clattered by Gonzalo Montiel and managed to play on.
RF: Richarlison - 5/10 - Full of energy and popped up in opportune places next to Kane and Son but his touch often let him down. Given quite a battering by Sevilla's defenders.
LF: Son Heung-min - 8/10 - Seems to have found his dribbling boots and bag of tricks again. Caused Sevilla plenty of problems and got into some afters with Montiel too.
CF: Harry Kane - 8/10 - Linked well with Richarlison and Son, and his flawless technique was rewarded with a goal.
SUB: Japhet Tanganga (CB) - 6/10 - Again came on and looked more at home than Sanchez.
SUB: Emerson Royal (RM) - 5/10 - Looked tidy but scarcely involved.
SUB: Matt Doherty (LM) - 4/10 - Easily outmuscled and outpaced.
SUB: Ben Davies (CB) - 6/10 - Played a couple of searching balls over the top. Made such a difference having someone comfortable on the ball playing from the left side. Subbed back off after a clash of heads with Munir.
SUB: Rodrigo Bentancur (CM) - 6/10 - A more open second half allowed the Uruguayan to easily play his way through midfield.
SUB: Dejan Kulusevski (RF) - 6/10 - Looked threatening whenever he had the ball.
SUB: Bryan Gil (LF) - 5/10
SUB: Pape Matar Sarr (CM) - 5/10
SUB: Troy Parrott (CF) - 5/10
SUB: Brandon Austin (GK) - 4/10
SUB: Malachi Fagan-Walcott (CB) - N/A
