Kane's Halfway Loop and Ronaldo's "Siii" Marked A Memorable End to 2019 ICCSG

With due respect to the past visiting teams, this year's International Champions Cup Singapore (ICCSG) Tournament was probably be the most glittering since Singapore Sports Hub first hosted the event in 2017 under an ongoing four-year agreement.

Not only because two of four participating teams - Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs are two of the best supported English Premier League sides in Singapore, Juventus, who back in Singapore for the first time since 2015, were boasted by the presence of talismanic Cristiano Ronaldo and the impressive 19-year-old Matthijs de Ligt, the new signing from Ajax Amsterdam following his notable performance that won him admirers among the top clubs in Europe.

Credit to the man in cap for started the Kallang Wave on last Saturday

Apart from the largely cold shoulder response by the Red Devils to their adoring fans upon their arrival at their Ritz Carlton Millenia base, the players of other three participating sides duly obliged to requests for selfies and autographs when approached by supporters who camped patiently outside hotels such as Swissotel The Stamford, Marina Oriental to catch a glimpse of their footballing idols whom they usually see on television sets.

Despite that less-than-enthusiastic acknowledgement from their idols, it did not dampen the spirit of the Old Trafford faithfuls who turned out in large numbers on the first day of the tournament when they took on Italian giants Inter in front of 52,897 fans who were mostly decked in their red outfits and turned this cornerstone of the venue to a sea of red.

Marcus Rashford met with some resistance from Inter's defence

Ivan Perišić tried to make his way past.

Red Devils manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer fielded largely his best eleven to start the game before replaced the entire troop in the second half which saw Juan Mata, the only player reported to oblige to request for selfie and autograph upon arrival, came on to the field with Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku not named among the substitutes due to injury.

Nontheless, it further fuelled the speculation of the 26-year-old's future with the team following his known desire to leave Manchester and with one of the suitors of former Everton striker being Inter, it was inevitable to see Inter coach Antonio Conte being asked to comment on his club's failed bid to sign Lukaku.

The match ended one-nil in favour to United with a clinical finish from 18-year-old Mason Greenwood in the 76th minute to rock the roof of the stadium.

BETTER GAME BETWEEN JUVENTUS AND SPURS
The second match between Juventus and Tottenham on the following day was a more keenly-contested affair in front of a lesser crowd of 50,443.

Ronaldo did what he is best at - terrorizing the opponent's defence

Expecting more shots like this between Juve's De Ligt and Spurs' Kane on international level

The Lilywhites and England captain Harry Kane ensured the fans at the stadium can go home early when his late stunner from halfway helped the Londoners to beat the Italians 3-2 in the last match of the tournament.

The match also saw crowd favourite Ronaldo scored in the 60th minute for the "Grand Old Lady" to place them on the lead before Lucas Moura drew level five minutes later to set up the dramatic ending towards the end at Kallang.

A boy managed to grab a selfie with CR7

During the second half, a boy broke through security and invaded the pitch while the game was in progress, it was later captured on the film that boy eventually made his way to the Juventus dugout with the help of coach Maurizio Sarri for selfie opportunity with superstar Ronaldo.

When asked on his thought of the boy's invasion at the post-match press conference, the former Chelsea coach merely replied:"To me, it's not an invasion but an joyful occasion."