Koreans Abroad Weekend Recap and Midweek Preview

Son's on fire and he's also the only one who could play midweek with  Champions League. Otherwise a lot of steady state outside of a quick recovery by Koo from stitches midweek.

Tuesday

Son Heung Min -- Tottenham at CSKA Moscow - 2:45 PM on Fox Sports 2 -- This may be the best form Son has ever been on.  Not just the scoring which has been impressive but also his mentally fluid play and consistent aggression.  Not that he made the perfect decision every time, but you can see him play without overthinking... better to be wrong and aggressive rather than right but lose your chance completely as defenders recover.  His second spectacular goal reflected his day.  He started with a great dribble into the box, tried to beat one too many defenders, but hustled back and won the ball back before anyone knew what was going on, then unleashed an unbelievable curling shot.

It seems he's stopped trying to play like Eriksen or Lamela and instead he's playing like himself and what was a minor tweak to take advantage of Sunderland's missing RB has showed Pochettino how to get the most out of Son: get him playing fast and he thrives with a bit of open space.

As for midweek, Tottenham is pretty injured with Kane / Sissoko out among attackers so even if he could use a breather, the need to get a W in the group and the lack of alternatives means he will probably start.


Recaps

Park Joo Ho -- No change.

Ji Dong Won -- Continues his consistent if not brilliant form.  Feel bad for the guy as he should have a few assists and goals right now but it seems all his good play just doesn't quite find the back of the goal.  But he's doing a lot of the needed work that Augsburg need, creating width, keeping possession and setting up good plays.  Sooner or later, it's gotta start going right, right?

Koo Ja Cheol -- He looked surprisingly fresh after looking ragged midweek and having stitches put in.  Still not the Koo of last year, but contributed with a nice cross for the winning goal, and again showed flexibility to patch up all the holes in Augsburg's formation.  With Bobadilla additionally out for the next few weeks, Koo will probably continue to line up on the right which isn't his natural position, but he's found decent productivity out of it.

Lee Chung Yong -- Came on in the final minutes, had one touch but provided the assist with a FK from the corner which Benteke headed in.  Disappointing for him to get so few minutes even if he were a bit tired from midweek play.

Ki Sung Yueng -- I was surprised to see him in the squad already and doubly so to see him come on with 20 minutes left.  Britton has been playing well at the base of the diamond, and Cork has struggled out wide (and really been flat this season) so maybe Ki can earn his way back onto the team.  He wasn't bad showing some really nice passes.  Maybe this trip to the doghouse will motivate Ki to elevate his game and take on a bit more risk with his play.

Kim Jin Su -- No change.

By @KoreaFootAbroad