So sad to near summertime and the end of club football until the fall with no World Cup or even Euros to numb the pain this year.
Hong Jeong Ho - I only saw the tail end of this match but Hong Jeong Ho looked to be fighting well though the papers did mention some mental errors.
Ji Dong Won was left out of the squad with injury.
Son Heung Min had yet another mediocre match before getting subbed off. I'm surprised he's still starting as he's very out of form and a break probably would have done him good here and there. His shooting has become very inaccurate even though his dribbling seems to have improved slightly.
Kim Jin Su looked good for much of what I saw. He handled the speed and technical threat that Bellarabi represents pretty well though he was subbed off for an attacker late in the match. Hopefully a sign of a reversion back to form.
Koo Ja Cheol was far from great but he did score and that seemed to lift his spirit. It was an Asian-clique goal, with Park Joo Ho driving and crossing it to Okazaki who was able to knock the ball to Koo who barely beat the keeper with his shot. Was far from vintage Koo otherwise with a bit of wasted effort.
Park Joo Ho slotted right back in and looked great again. He showed incredible composure on the ball despite being pressed hard on the buildup several times. Sometimes his passing can get away from him but it certainly was pretty sharp this weekend.
Yun Suk Young was benched and then brought in at HT. He looked to have put last week behind him with a well above average day though he's still far from the dynamic player we've seen from him at times. Not sure if he's low on confidence, or struggling with injuries or just feeling the load of WC and first EPL season.
Lee Chung Yong had his debut and outside the Gerrard sideshow, was far from a memorable match. He had a few chances to get a shot on and missed good opportunities. And he was a bit tentative in getting involved in the action. But had he gotten the penalty call that was deserved, perhaps we'd look back differently.
Ki Sung Yueng's season came to a surprising halt with news that he was set to undergo minor knee surgery which would prematurely end his season. He was walking ok after the match, dressed in a suit, so the surgery hadn't been done. The question was how much of the reduced role was due to this and hopefully he comes back in summer training fully fit.
Suk Hyun Jun scored and helped ensure Vitoria Setubal's survival.
