Tottenham Hotspur made a relatively low-key entrance to the Hong Kong Football Festival on Tuesday, holding a public training session in front of 9,080 fans at Kai Tak Stadium.
While the Europa League winners drew only around one-third of the 27,000 who watched Liverpool practice last Thursday, the Spurs devotees lapped up their 75 minutes of action.
Stars including James Maddison, Richarlison and fan favourite Son Heung-min participated in various keep-ball games, before moving through some gruelling sprinting exercises and into a full game, played on half the pitch.
Days after Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk criticised the surface, it again noticeably cut-up as players engaged in slick, condensed drills where they tried to keep the ball away from each other.
Any sight of Son on the big screen generated excited screams, although the cheers gave way to jeers when the cameras picked out a fan wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words ‘I love Levy’, in reference to the club’s unpopular chairman Daniel Levy.
Son Heung-min powers forwards as the Kai Tak playing surface shows signs of wear and tear. Photo: Elson Li
Also captured on the large television was a youngster wearing a Liverpool shirt, a reminder of the Premier League champions’ overwhelming popularity in Asia.