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Rob Guest

Richarlison and Romero team up for Son, Hojbjerg fume - 5 things spotted in Tottenham vs Sevilla

Tottenham's pre-season tour of South Korea is brought to you in association with Nord VPN, sponsors of football.london's coverage.

Conte's team selection and Lucas decision

Antonio Conte was always going to change things about for Tottenham's second pre-season friendly on their tour of South Korea. Having defeated Team K League 6-3 on Wednesday, players such as Hugo Lloris, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane came into the XI to take on Sevilla.

It was a very strong team the Italian head coach fielded, although there was no place in the side for either Emerson Royal or Matt Doherty at right wing-back. Instead, Lucas Moura, who played in the position in the second half against Team K League, started there as Richarlison got the nod in the front three alongside Kane and Son.

Having all the qualities to operate as a wing-back as he is good defensively and a natural going forward, Conte always resisted the temptation of playing Lucas there last campaign despite their struggles in the area at times. With only one natural on the left flank at present as Ivan Perisic isn't fully fit and Sergio Reguilon was left back in England, Doherty's versatility has come in quite handy as he has played on that side to make up for the lack of numbers.

READ MORE: Tottenham second half player ratings vs Sevilla: Kane scores, Son assists and Kulusevski danger

That in turn leaves Spurs one short on the right, with the club yet to officially confirm the signing of Djed Spence from Middlesbrough. Lucas did show his quality inside the first 15 minutes following a sharp turn that set Richarlison free, before then doing his bit at the back with a good header under pressure at the far post to clear the ball away from danger.

Lucas may not have much experience in the role but he didn't look out of place, thus giving his boss another option in the position if required.

Reunions galore

Tottenham's match against Sevilla gave the opportunity for a number of players to catch up with some old colleagues. One year on from his exit, Erik Lamela came face-to-face with his old Spurs teammates for the first time since ending his long association with the club.

Lamela's Tottenham exit coincided with Bryan Gil joining the club from the Spanish side, and the Spain Under-21s ace was also keen to make up for lost time as he headed towards the Sevilla dugout to embrace some of his former teammates. New Tottenham signing Ivan Perisic was also spotted sat in the dugout alongside former Croatia international star Ivan Rakitic as they grabbed a couple of minutes together.

Just prior to the teams entering the field of play, Lamela made his way over to the Tottenham team waiting to come out of the tunnel and the TV cameras picked up on him sharing a quick moment with Kane, Lloris and Eric Dier. He was then on the end of big tackles from both Cristian Romero and Davinson Sanchez once the match got going, before later striking the post with a curling effort in his 45 minutes on the pitch.

Hojbjerg sticks up for Richarlison

Richarlison was handed his second start of Tottenham's pre-season tour on Saturday. Playing the second half of the Team K League win on the right of a front three with Kane and Son having initially started the game through the middle, the trio were given picked from the off by Conte against Sevilla.

The ex-Everton man was in the wars in the first half as he was fouled a number of times by the opposition when in possession of the ball. Managing to keep hold of the ball on one occasion just before the 30-minute mark despite multiple Sevilla players surrounding him, the Brazilian was hacked to ground by Rafa Mir.

Hojbjerg wasn't pleased about the challenge on his teammate at all and quickly went over to the Sevilla frontman and let his feelings be known. After receiving a number of kicks throughout the first half, something had to be said.

Things get heated

It wasn't so much of a friendly at Suwon World Cup Stadium with a number of big tackles flying in. There was also one incident that saw Sevilla right-back Gonzalo Montiel require treatment after he was left bleeding from the mouth after Son caught him in the face.

The 25-year-old certainty didn't forget about the coming together and confronted the South Korean seconds after the half-time whistle had sounded. Players from both sides quickly came over and there was a bit of pushing and shoving before Richarlison guided Son away from the melee.

Romero then played a key part in helping to diffuse the situation as he went over to Argentina international Montiel and calmed down his international teammate as they walked off the pitch together. Much has been made of Richarlison and Romero playing together at Tottenham following a couple of notable incidents in the past but they teamed up perfectly to stop things getting out of hand in Suwon.

Perisic made to wait

Perisic will have to wait another week to make his Tottenham debut after playing no part in Tottenham's tour of South Korea. Picking up a calf injury in his final game for Inter Milan, the Croat has been working his way back to fitness since then.

Initially only doing fitness work with his new teammates during training so far, the experienced player has stepped up his regime since Friday and has started to do ball work with the Tottenham squad. Perisic was on the pitch with the team ahead of the Sevilla game and was spotted working with the ball alongside Bryan Gil and Pape Matar Sarr.

Despite being named as a substitute on the official teamsheet, Perisic played no part in the contest as Spurs continue to manage his fitness. The good news is that he is progressing and should soon be ready to take to the field in a game for his new club.

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