Singapore Premier League giants Lion City Sailors were thoroughly given a lesson in footballing masterclass by Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night, as a Richarlison hat-trick helped Spurs clinch a heavy 5-1 win at the National Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.
The Sailors were a last-minute substitution for this year’s Tiger Cup, as Italian titans AS Roma had to withdrew from the friendly tournament due to issues pertaining their Asian tour, specifically the South Korean leg that saw non-commitments from the local organizers.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou named a strong squad for Wednesday’s friendly which included the likes of Bayern Munich target Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, and almost immediately the North Londoners dominated proceedings.
However, it was LCS who took a shock lead in the 14th minute. Against the run of play, a cross from the right flank from Maxime Lestienne was bundled into Gugielmo Vicario’s goal by Singapore international Shawal Anuar.
Tottenham then brought up the pressure, with LCS goalie Zharfan Rohaizad doing well to deny James Maddison’s effort before a Son header was chalked off for offside and Pape Matar Sarr struck the crossbar.
LCS were dreaming of retaining their lead into half-time however said dreams was shattered late into stoppage time after Sarr was fouled within the area, with Kane superbly firing home the equalizer past Rohaizad.
Both sides changed much of their starting lineup for the second half and while LCS’ first teamers were able to take the game to Spurs, the gulf of class between the two sides became very apparent once the second stringers took stage.
Three minutes into the second half, Richarlison – who has been much-maligned by the Spurs fanbase for his lack of productivity last season – snatched a deflected Giovani Lo Celso ball and struck home past Rohaizad to give Tottenham the lead.
Five minutes later Richarlison made it 3-1, beating Rohaizad with a simple nod.
Lo Celso then further increased Tottenham’s lead in the 73rd minute, taking advantage of a loose ball to force Rohaizad to pick the ball from the back of his net again.
Rohaizad was then replaced by Muhammad bin Azahari, but he didn’t fare better as he conceded Tottenham’s fifth goal of the night in injury time, flicking home his hat-trick.
Tottenham will head back to London for another friendly match against Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk at their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on August 6th, while LCS will resume their Singapore Premier League title charge by hosting Balestier Khalsa at the Bishan Stadium on July 31st.