Weekend Recap: Son scores & Kwon impresses + midweek listing

Coming back from international break is always an iffy thing for KPAs coming back from Asia. Son, despite his jetlag managed to get on the scoreline for a much needed insurance goal for a Kane-less Spurs looking to gain ground on Chelsea.

Player                  Club                  Opponent          Result         Notes
Son Heungmin, Tottenham, @Burnley,              0-2 W, sub in ’73 + goal in ’77
Ji Dongwon,      Augsburg,     @Bayern Munich, 6-0 L, 90′
Koo Jacheol,      Augsburg,    @Bayern Munich,  6-0 L, not in 18/yellow card suspension
Park Jooho,        Dortmund,   @Schalke,                1-1 D, Not in 18
Lee Chungyong, Palace,          @Chelsea,                1-2 W, Not in 18
Ki Sungyueng,    @Swansea,    Middlesbrough     0-0 D, Unused sub
Kwon Changhoon, Dijon,      @Marseille,              1-1 D,  79′ +yellow card

KPA notes:

• Kwon Chang-Hoon had a reportedly impressive shift for Dijon over the weekend

TV5 commentators loving Kwon. "He's not once lost the ball, he's the reason Dijon can compete moving forward – difficult to play against"

— Tim Lee (@korfan12) April 1, 2017

"Kwon is everywhere! A small size but he is everywhere. I don't know where Dijon found him, but he is unplayable." It's called the #KLeague!

— Tim Lee (@korfan12) April 1, 2017

See for yourself, Heon as usual with his excellent ball touch video summary:

Son’s performance: I’m overanalyzing here but since you and I are still here… Pochettino made some tactical shifts after losing Winks and Wanyama to untimely injuries in the first half. Burnley sensing an opportunity, decided to unpark the bus – Poch took out Vincent Jansen (possibly injured) for Son, both Son and Alli were told to go forward AND shifted Dier up into the midfield – thus changing the dynamic to unlock Burnley -who are tough to beat at their home ground. Son’s first touch, receiving a ball over the top from Eriksen was less than graceful, ending up with Son falling over in a heap after failing to control the ball. Soon after he had his first shot on goal, should’ve done better as he slammed it into the side netting.  Eriksen, after a great effort dislodging the ball from a Burnley player, sensed both options of Alli running right and Son going left. He opted right- the correct option in hindsight – Alli’s excellent vision (and a bit of luck) one timed his nutmeg/cross to find Son on the far side for the tap in. Easy? Perhaps not the most difficult shot to execute but to his credit – Son was in the right place at the right time, he did his job and most importantly had enough composure in his locker to finish properly (and not fluff the shot). Can’t emphasize the last part enough as his finishing has been suspect during the middle part of this season.  In beast mode: Son’s next attacking drive was able to return the favor to Alli, a great pass that found the defenders scrambling to shift over, but despite time and space, Alli’s shot was wide of the net.

Later on in another attacking drive, Son displayed poor decision, opted to pass left, an inaccurate pass which was picked off and led to a Burnley counter. In hindsight- had he took on his defender -might’ve been able be in another impactful position to wreak further havoc. End of his 20 minutes on the pitch, Son’s passing accuracy amounted to 60%.

Here I can undoubtedly cut Son some slack. Jetlag is a real and definite factor for player performances. Poch was saving Son to be ready for Swansea on Wednesday – seeing he had just traveled all the way from Seoul after 90 minutes for Korea last week. Son wasn’t his best -but was impactful enough to help Spurs keep winning despite Kane’s absence.

2 shots / 1 goal. It’s his 8th Premier League goal, 15th across all competitions for Spurs (winds up his 15 > 11 for Eden Hazard this season!).  With Crystal Palace somehow managing a win at Stamford Bridge, Spurs cut Chelsea’s lead to 7 points – the next several fixtures against teams below the top 10.

Looking at Heon’s ball touch summary for Son – his passing wasn’t as bad as I had initially thought…

Got more notes from KPA’s last weekend from Korean Footballers Abroad:

Ji Dong Won — Played 90 but a brutal loss albeit to Bayern puts em down into the relegation playoff spot. Very worrisome. I have to think that Baum will mix things up in a must win midweek.If Ji is a part of that, not certain, possibly out wide but also possibly on the bench especially with Finnbogason as an option.

Koo Ja Cheol — Missed the weekend with yellow card suspension but if he was going to miss one, Bayern was a good time to get a bit extra rest. Koo should be right back in the starting XI. With Baier nearing a return, we’ll see if that has secondary effects on where Koo lines up.

Lee Chung Yong — Still no role for Chungy and don’t expect anything new even on a short week with a run of injuries.

Ki Sung Yueng — Not a good sign when in a must win match tied at 0-0, nobody from the bench is used. Yes, Swansea were on the front foot, but some signs of fatigue began to show. Most of the problems were up front rather than the CM trio so maybe not all is lost for Ki but disappointing. Given short week perhaps Ki gets a shot but not sure how given Fer playing well, Clement keen on fielding Carroll vs his former club, and Cork’s different role. I’m leaning still towards bench.

Midweek listing from Korean Footballers Abroad:

Day	Time (ET)	Player	Club	Opponent	TV
Tuesday	2:00 PM	Park Joo Ho	Dortmund	Hamburg	Fox Sports 2
Wednesday	2:00 PM	Ji Dong Won	Augsburg	Ingolstadt	Fox Soccer 2 Go
Wednesday	2:00 PM	Koo Ja Cheol	Augsburg	Ingolstadt	Fox Soccer 2 Go
Wednesday	2:45 PM	Lee Chung Yong	Crystal Palace	Southampton	NBC Extra Time
Wednesday	2:45 PM	Ki Sung Yueng	Swansea	Tottenham	NBC Extra Time
Wednesday	2:45 PM	Son Heung Min	Tottenham	@Swansea	NBC Extra Time
Off	n/a	Kwon Chang Hoon	Dijon

US EST / US TV & streaming options

and a quick update this afternoon, Park Joo-Ho is ALIVE!

Park Joo-Ho is back in the 18 for @BVB https://t.co/P3zmJJahWQ

— Tavern of the Taeguk Warriors (@taeguk_warrior) April 4, 2017

Let’s go to Korea for K-League Classic results:

• The big match of the weekend was in Jeolla province, 20K on hand to witness Jeonbuk gaining further separation from FC Seoul -and late revenge for last season’s title snatching win for the capital city team. Former Hoffenheim LB Kim Jin-Su delivered with another freekick goal.  According to K-League United in their match recap, Seoul’s skipper Hwang Sun-hong took out Lee Sang-ho and brought in Dejan to pair up with Park Chu-Young – that gave Seoul a chance to even things, but a delicious opportunity as PCY through ball to Ju Se-Jong snuffed out the chance when he shot directly at Jeonbuk’s keeper.
• Jeju and Jeonbuk are tops of the table – with Jeju ahead by goal differential. Pohang moves up the table with another 3 points earned away at Jeonnam.
• Many predicted direness for Incheon this season, but they’ve managed to scrap some impressive draws – a 3:3 result against Suwon in front of a lively home crowd has managed to keep them just out of the relegation zone – even if they’re probably still in a relegation scrap for the long haul.

 

 

K League Challenge (from soccerway.com)