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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Dan Kilpatrick

Richarlison, Harry Kane and Oliver Skipp: What we learned as Tottenham made winning start to pre-season tour

Harry Kane and Heung-min Son both scored twice as Tottenham began pre-season with a 6-3 win against a K-League XI in Seoul.

New signings Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster and Yves Bissouma all sat out but there were debuts for Richarlison and Pape Matar Sarr.

Eric Dier opened the scoring with a strike from 20 yards but the hosts hit back on the stroke of half-time. Half-time sub Kane forced an own goal within seconds of the restart and scored himself with a low strike and a free kick.

Son sent a crowd of over 61,000 wild with a goal from the penalty spot before rolling his second into an empty net. Team K-League added two goals of their own in an entertaining second half, in which both sides made a raft of changes.

With the usual caveats that this was a pre-season friendly - and against an invitational XI - here are five takeaways from the match...

(Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Sanchez frailties still there

Davinson Sanchez proved his worth last season, finishing the campaign with three faultless performances to help Spurs clinch Champions League football.

But there are doubts about the Colombian's reliability, particularly when he is forced to play on the left of Antonio Conte's back three -- as he did in Seoul.

Sanchez was lucky not to concede a first-half penalty for a clumsy challenge and, along with Dier, was at fault for Team K-League's first equaliser.

He tried to meet a cross with a foot rather than his head, allowing Gue-sung Cho to get above him and head past Brandon Austin easily.

Sanchez is a decent understudy for Cristian Romero but this game was another reminder of the frailties in his game.

(REUTERS)

Richarlison shows versatility

Tottenham's R9 was lively if understandably rusty on debut and completed over an hour, suggesting he is further ahead fitness-wise than many of his new teammates.

Richarlison linked up well with compatriot Lucas Moura in the first half and Kane after the break and it was immediately clear that the £60million signing will increase Conte's options.

Richarlison began the match at centre-forward in Conte's usual 3-4-3 system before switching to the right in the second half.

With the Brazilian, Son, Dejan Kulusevski and Perisic in the squad, Conte has far more options to make in-game changes than last season, including in the front three.

(REUTERS)

Kane finally scores free kick

Kane finally scored from a free kick for the first time since his deflected effort against Aston Villa in 2014.

Spurs fans have grown increasingly frustrated with Kane's insistence on taking the vast majority of free-kicks in sight of goal, despite evidence that it is one of the few weaknesses in his game and viable alternatives in Son and Dier.

Indeed, Son scored two direct free-kicks on international duty for Korea in June, suggesting he should at least be in the conversation more often for his club.

But Kane's free-kick, a low strike which deflected into the bottom corner, may just have ensured the England captain begins the season on free-kick duty. Really, it may have been more helpful for Spurs if he had allowed Son to take, just as he did the penalty.

(Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Sharp Skipp

Oliver Skipp made his first appearance for Spurs since January after recovering from pelvic surgery. Last season, it was unclear how long it would take for Skipp to return to action and Conte grew increasingly frustrated by his absence.

So it was encouraging to see the young midfielder looking sharp and showing no ill effects on a 45-minute run-out in Seoul, where he played alongside Rodrigo Bentancur for the first time. Romero, who also finished last season injured, also returned to the side and looked sharp.

(Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Gil and Sarr opportunities

Returning loanees Bryan Gil and Pape Matar Sarr were both given opportunities to impress in Seoul.

Conte is thought to be undecided on whether the youngsters will be part of the first-team squad this season and both could be sent on loan if they are not deemed ready over the next few weeks. Gil was lively on the right of the front three in the first half, while Sarr put in a tidy display in the midfield.

Obviously, it is still too early to say whether they have done enough to impress Conte but they are two players worth keeping an eye on in the further friendlies against Sevilla, Rangers and AS Roma this month.

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