21 July 2019
Tottenham Hotspur ran out 3-2 victors in the opening match the International Champions Cup tournament in Singapore, as second half goals from Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo weren't enough to see Juventus claim a victory.
Maurizio Sarri’s first ever starting XI as Juventus head coach saw Gianluigi Buffon make his return to the starting XI, and he was required to deny Son twice in the space of the opening eight minutes of the game. The Spurs attacker saw his first effort parried away by the 42-year-old, before picking out an aerial opportunity away from the South Korean.
SPURS TAKE FIRST HALF LEAD
The English side opened the scoring on the stroke of the half hour when Son made a run down the middle of the park. He held onto the ball when approaching the box, before laying it off to Parrott. He then fired at goal, which saw Buffon get a hand to it, but it fell straight into the path of Lamela, who directed the ball into the back of the net.
HIGUAIN DRAWS LEVEL
Szczesny, Demiral, Rabiot and Higuain were all introduced into the match after the break, taking the place of Buffon, Rugani, Emre Can and Mandzukic respectively. The first chance of the second half came from the foot of Lucas Moura, who fired towards goal a powerful effort that sailed just wide. Higuain, who made an immediate impact following his introduction to the game, switched the scoreline to 1-1, in the 55th minute, when he got involved in a quick give-and-go with Bernardeschi on the edge of the box, where he struck the ball low and hard.
RONALDO TAKES LEAD, MOURA EQUALISES
That goal allowed for the game to open up more on both ends, with the Bianconeri soon taking the lead when Ronaldo came rushing into the box and connected onto the end of De Sciglio’s cross to make it 2-1. New signing Matthijs de Ligt was introduced into the game in the 63rd minute when he replaced Bonucci. But before he was able to settle into the fixture, Spurs found their second goal, and the equalizer, just moments later when Ndombele pulled off some silky moves to allow Moura to convert the opportunity.
LAST-MINUTE STUNNER FROM KANE
Pjanic and Matuidi made way in the 76th minute for Kastanos and Muratore, as both teams went in search of the winning goal. Harry Kane inches close in stealing the match-winner when he directed a low ball towards to the back post. The Englishman then wrapped up the scoreline depe into stoppage time when nipped the ball off Rabiot’s feet, saw Tek off his line and looped an effort from 45 yards out that sailed into the back of the net to end the game 2-3.
Juventus: Buffon (Szczesny 46’); Cancelo, Rugani (Demiral 46’), Bonucci (de Ligt 63’), De Sciglio; Pjanic (Kastanos 76’), Emre Can (Rabiot 46’), Matuidi (Muratore 76’); Bernardeschi, Mandzukic (Higuain 46’), Ronaldo (Perreira 63’)
Tottenham Hotspur: Gazzaniga; Walker-Peters, Alderweireld, Tanganga, Georgiou; Winks, Skipp; Lamela, Dele, Son; Parrott
