Pretty 'meh' weekend. Let's hope for better this week with a full week of rest of those players with Europa commitments.
Kim Jin Su -- For the most part, he had been doing well, with some decent interceptions and tackles on defense, and some reasonable threat of danger going forward in the handful of times that he pushed up. But then just minutes from the end, he got beaten over the top on a direct long ball. The small sliver of opportunity to correct the mistake was undone by a complete lack of communication resulting in both him and the CH sliding and subsequently taking themselves out of the play. A disappointing error given that Hoffenheim looked poised to get a valuable three points. I'm not sure it was bad enough to lose his spot but it was a terribly egregious and costly error.
Lee Chung Yong -- He not only made the squad but he actually came on as a sub with 15 minutes to go, albeit with the match all but settled with a three goal difference at the time. With most all the tempo taken out of the match, Chungy didn't do much, with a handful of decent passes and even had a decent opportunity to tap in a good cross but it got just cleared before it reached him. Looking at Chamakh warming up, it seemed that Pardew wanted Chungy to get some minutes ahead of next weekend as he may get a rare chance to start with Sako hurt (hamstring) and Zaha serving a one match suspension due to yellow accumulations. It could be that Pardew picks someone else either based on preference or on the 15 minutes there, but the opportunity is there to impress even if only for one match and certainly post-match Bolasie implied that Chungy would be called upon to fill in.
Yun Suk Young -- He started and played 55 minutes or so before he got pulled for two attacking players. Again he was a LM and he'll have to take starting out of position over not even making the squad. Though with the improving health of their attacking players, perhaps Yun finds himself on the bench or out of the squad again going forward.
Suk Hyun Jun -- Suk started again but was eventually pulled at 72 minutes as Vitoria Setubal fought back to earn a draw.
Son Heung Min -- One of his trying too hard matches, but probably a decent one to be in that state with the match incredibly choppy with the pragmatic Mourinho approach stifling much of the match's flow. The highs for Son were that he had the two best chances, one that he carved excellently for himself by dribbling through several defenders, then working a nice 1-2 with Lamela. The major down was that both huge opportunities were wasted as he shot straight at Begovic. He also took a few too many chances with his passes, particularly some really ill-advised backheels. On the defensive end, though, Son continued his good recent form, winning the ball back nicely a few times and almost nicking the ball for an uncontested breakaway. The pressure on Tottenham continues to rise with their good performances, and Son needs to elevate his form, particularly on the goal-scoring front, to help his team match media expectations.
Park Joo Ho -- Tuchel said that he was available for selection but he was left off the squad in a disappointing turn of events. We'll have to see how Tuchel uses him going forward.
Ki Sung Yueng -- A better performance than last week but still far from his best. Whenever Ki asserted himself, Swansea were so much stronger in the buildup and maintaining possession against Liverpool's pressing approach. The problem was that he often did not and wasn't particularly helped by Britton who has looked very far off the pace in his return to the starting XI. Ki and Cork for the defensive pairing looked far more stable and I hope to see it going forward, though with Shelvey returning, it may be interesting to see how Monk lines em up.
Hong Jeong Ho -- Still out with injury.
Ji Dong Won -- Came on for Koo in a rare European exchange of Koreans. He didn't end up doing all that much... although Wolfsburg were reduced to 10 men, the wear of Europa league seemed to grind down Augsburg in the final minutes and didn't generate too many great chances.
Koo Ja Cheol -- A good performance from Koo who was pulled to prevent him accumulating another yellow. He had a good claim on a PK call in the first half and worked it well while he was on, helping Augsburg battle against a strong Wolfsburg side. Things look sooo close for Augsburg and it feels like once they get Europa out of the way, that a dash up the table is a strong probability. Hopefully they can keep it going over the last few weeks before winter break.
