Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane give fans moments to savour
Juventus' star and Spurs' captain give local fans two moments to remember
In 2014, Neymar hogged the headlines with a four-goal masterclass for Brazil as they sank Japan 4-0 at the newly opened National Stadium.
JUVENTUS | TOTTENHAM |
2 | 3 |
(Gonzalo Higuain 56, Cristiano Ronaldo 60) |
(Erik Lamela 30, Lucas Moura 65, Harry Kane 90+3) |
Yesterday, it was the King of Turin, Cristiano Ronaldo, and the pride of north London, Harry Kane, who took turns to sprinkle stardust on the lush green turf of Kallang.
The duo provided the 50,443-strong crowd with two iconic moments to savour as Tottenham Hotspur defeated Juventus 3-2 in the Singapore leg of the International Champions Cup (ICC).
The first came on the hour mark.
With the score tied at 1-1, the ball arrived at the feet of Ronaldo in the box.
His strike took a deflection off a Spurs defender before hitting the back of the net.
SIGNATURE CELEBRATION
The Portuguese peacock then darted to the corner flag, celebrating in his trademark fashion - spinning 180 degrees while in the air and, on landing, flailing his arms out by his sides.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner's usual bellow of "Si!" (Spanish for "yes") was synchronised with the one that came from the stands.
In a stadium that has held several concerts from top global bands and singers, there was possibly not a sweeter note heard - as far as football fans were concerned.
The Spurs fans were only too happy to milk the moment, as they too joined in.
Kane would then seize his chance to send them wild, when he netted the winner with a stupendous strike from just after the half-way line.
With Juventus losing possession in Spurs' half, Kane reacted quickly to take control of the ball and thump it over former Arsenal custodian Wojciech Szczesny in goal.
This time, even the Juventus fans felt compelled to appreciate the audacity, as well as the dexterity, of the English forward's strike.
While the finale was frenetic, it was not quite the case earlier on. It was both sides' first pre-season run out and the rustiness showed on the pitch, with loose touches and misplaced passes aplenty.
Spurs' Erik Lamela opened the scoring in the 30th minute with a close-range strike, after young Troy Parrott's shot was parried into his path by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
Substitute Gonzalo Higuain then equalised with a well-taken strike from just inside the box in the 56th minute.
Just four minutes later, Ronaldo gave the Italian giants the lead.
Spurs' new 62 million-euro (S$94.6m) record signing Tanguy Ndombele - who was making his debut, like Juventus' Merih Demiral, Matthijs de Ligt and Adrien Rabiot - then made an instant impact.
The French midfielder played a precise through-ball for Brazilian attacker Lucas Moura to make it 2-2.
With the match headed for a penalty shoot-out, Kane conjured up one last bit of magic.
On a weekend of ICC action between four quality sides over two days - Manchester United beat Inter Milan 1-0 last Saturday - football fans in Singapore could only feel spoiled, especially those in attendance last night.
For the price of one, they went home with two iconic moments to savour for a lifetime.
JUVENTUS: Gianluigi Buffon (Wojciech Szczesny 46), Joao Cancelo, Leonardo Bonucci (Matthijs de Ligt 63) , Daniele Rugani (Merih Demiral 46), Mattia de Sciglio, Emre Can (Adrien Rabiot 46), Blaise Matuidi (Grigoris Kastanos 76) , Miralem Pjanic (Simone Muratore 76), Cristiano Ronaldo (Matheus Pereira 63), Federico Bernardeschi, Mario Mandzukic (Gonzalo Higuain 46)
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: Paulo Gazzaniga, Kyle Walker-Peters (George Marsh 71), Toby Alderweireld (Juan Foyth 46) , Japhet Tanganga (Jan Vertonghen 46), Anthony Georgiou (Harvey White 71), Harry Winks (Jack Roles 63), Oliver Skipp (Jamie Bowden 90+2), Dele Alli (Moussa Sissoko 46), Erik Lamela (Tanguy Ndombele 63), Son Heung Min (Lucas Moura 46), Troy Parrott (Harry Kane 46)
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