Tottenham’s 100 per cent record in pre-season came to an end today when they were beaten 2-1 by Bayern Munich in Seoul.
The presence of Spurs captain Son Heung-min meant the bulk of the crowd in the South Korean capital were rooting for Ange Postecoglou’s team but it made little difference as the Bundesliga side edged it in humid conditions.
Gabriel Vidovic put Bayern ahead after four minutes and Leon Goretzka doubled their advantage 11 minutes into the second half.
Pedro Porro pulled one back but it was not enough as Vincent Kompany’s men held on.
Defeat in the Seoul heat. pic.twitter.com/QADmYlt2XX
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 3, 2024
Despite lacking former Spurs captain Harry Kane and Germany internationals Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala, Bayern started the better and took an early lead when a mix-up between goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and Djed Spence allowed Vidovic to score after Serge Gnabry had been denied.
Vidovic nearly had a second after 17 minutes but just failed to connect with the rebound after Vicario had saved Mathys Tel’s effort.
Son was quiet in attack but he did come to Spurs’ rescue with some brilliant defending to cut out a Tel cross that was intended for Vidovic, who was free in the middle.
Tel and Gnabry both went close as Bayern continued to dominate with Vicario also saving well to deny Raphael Guerreiro.
A raft of half-time substitutions from both managers failed to alter the complexion of the game with the overworked Vicario doing well to repel an effort from Bryan Zaragoza.
But the second goal Bayern had been threatening did arrive after 56 minutes. Tel broke through the heart of the Spurs defence and, although Vicario saved his initial effort, the midfielder made no mistake with his second.
Bayern substitute Eric Dier almost handed his former club a route back into the game on the hour mark – his error giving Pape Sarr the chance to test Sven Ulreich.
And Spurs did pull one back six minutes later when Porro found space and fired a rocket into the net.
A Pedro Porro special! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/7Biv2q8efu
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 3, 2024
Youngster Lucas Bergvall almost netted again two minutes later as Spurs nearly levelled.
More substitutions took the sting out of the game, although Bayern should have added a late third when Adam Aznou shot wide at the far post.
