Korean Footballers Abroad is minimalist…and dope AF. Here’s his weekend preview and his roundup/assessment of Korean ballers in top flight European leagues:
I have only watched partial of some of these matches but so it goes when I’m on vacation. I’ll try to watch the rest but doubt will have major impact on review.
Day | Time (ET) | Player | Club | Opponent | TV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Friday | 2:30 PM | Ji Dong Won | Augsburg | @Mainz | Fox Sports 2 |
Friday | 2:30 PM | Koo Ja Cheol | Augsburg | @Mainz | Fox Sports 2 |
Saturday | 9:30 AM | Park Joo Ho | Dortmund | @Darmstadt | Fox Soccer Plus |
Saturday | 10:00 AM | Lee Chung Yong | Crystal Palace | @Stoke City | NBC Extra Time |
Saturday | 12:30 PM | Son Heung Min | Tottenham | @Liverpool | NBC |
Saturday | 2:00 PM | Kwon Chang Hoon | Dijon | Caen | None |
Sunday | 11:00 AM | Ki Sung Yueng | Swansea | Leicester City | NBCSN |
Koo Ja Cheol — Strong game from Koo who scored the leveler and also had a nice pass to setup Bobadilla’s winner. Continuing to play as the deeper of the two attacking midfielders, Koo continues to be the one reliable means of getting the ball up the pitch. Still uses a bit more fancy moves than is needed given riskiness, but it has been effective. The downside was that Koo injured his ankle (probably recurrence) and he’s already been ruled out for the weekend. With a bit of cushion to relegation spots now, hopefully he comes back soon but when he’s 100%.
Ji Dong Won — Ji keeps chugging away out wide, and was slightly better but still struggling to create width as he lacks the pace or trickery to be wide winger in 4-1-4-1. With Koo out maybe he slides into a more central attacking role, especially with Altintop looking weak for a starting role. He’s been working hard and Baum seems to appreciate it, but hopefully he starts producing like he was at the end of the first half.
Park Joo Ho — Not in midweek cup or weekend squads so not much difference.
Lee Chung Yong — Left out of squad but with Crystal Palace getting destroyed by Sunderland, perhaps Allardyce looks to LCY at least for an option off the bench. Disappointing that he can’t even make the squad.
Son Heung Min — Reportedly played well in the first half, and provided the biggest moment winning a PK that would lead to the winning goal with a nice move. His passing was very good in the parts that I saw, but was a bit sloppy with his decision making.
Kwon Chang Hoon — Spent the weekend with the reserves and made the first team for midweek fixture. Unfortunately, an early sub and a red card means no debut for KCH.
Ki Sung Yueng — Left off the squad. I didn’t see him in training videos/pics so maybe not 100% but also no word so maybe just Clement’s preference right now. We’ll look for an update for this weekend but looks like small possibility for bench right now.
Tavern owner intruding>> Swansea confirmed that Ki Sung-Yeung has a knee injury, it’s what kept him out of the lineup last weekend – and he’ll be out for a few more weeks:
As I suspected Ki Sung Yueng out. Turns out knee; not too serious but still 3-4 wks out: https://t.co/NehBkCuclm
— Korean Footballers (@KoreaFootAbroad) February 9, 2017
and while youtuber Heon had trouble with the EPL last week when his ball touch vid on Son’s MotM performance against ‘Boro was pulled – he managed to get another one out there. Son earned a penalty in the 2nd half with Kane converting to give Spurs a 1-0 win and a crucial 3 points. Spurs are in 2nd place and 9 points behind table toppers Chelsea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EsbobjcJhU
and check out Koo’s performance vs Werder Bremen, Koo instrumental in a thrilling comeback, providing equalizer (watch that starting at 1:20 in video below), and then with seconds to go before FT whistle, expertly controlled a long ball, only to flick it onto Bobadilla for the game winner.
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