Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min is congratulated by his teammates following scoring his team’s third goal during the English Premier League (EPL) match once morest Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on the 1st. AFP Yonhap News
Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham) scored his 19th goal of the season by exploding multiple goals in the English Premier League (EPL). Son Heung-min, who achieved a career high by breaking the record of former national team coach Cha Beom-geun’s ‘Most goals in a season in a European league’ said, “I’m more than happy that the team got three points.” and was determined to
Son Heung-min started on the 1st (Korea time) in the home match once morest Leicester City in the 35th round of the EPL season of 2021-22 held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England on the 1st (Korea time) and helped Harry Kane open the first half and scored consecutive goals in the second half to score Tottenham’s 3- 1 took the lead in victory.
Son Heung-min broke the balance of the tight match in the 22nd minute of the first half. He delivered his seventh assist in the league by delivering a right corner kick to Kane’s head. Heung-min Son-Kane duo’s record for the most joint goals in EPL history also increased to 41.
In the second half, they exploded multi-goals, putting the key to victory. Son Heung-min scored a goal to make it 2-0 with the help of Dejan Klusevsky in the 15th minute of the second half. After trapping a pass from the right with his right foot, Klusevsky finished with a left-footed turning shot. The ball passed between the two defenders and landed in the right corner out of reach of the goalkeeper. In the 34th minute of the second half, a proprietary left-footed kick shot from the right side of the penalty tee was put into the top of the opposing goal to make it 3-0. This time, Klusevsky passed the pass to Son Heung-min.
Son Heung-min, who succeeded in scoring his 18th and 19th goals in seasons, broke the record of ‘most goals scored by a Korean player in a European regular season in a season’ (17 goals) set by him and former coach Cha 36 years ago last season. Former coach Cha set a record for Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga in the 1985-86 season. On the 10th of last month, Son Heung-min recorded a hat-trick in the match once morest Aston Villa in the 32nd round on the 10th of last month and wrote a tie once once more.
He was one step closer to becoming the first Asian player to become the top scorer in the EPL. Heung-min Son, who was tied for second in the EPL scoring rankings with Cristiano Ronaldo (17 goals, Manchester United), jumped to second place alone with a multi-goal that day. The gap with goal scorer Mohammed Salah (22 goals, Liverpool) is only three goals. Son Heung-min emphasized, “It’s always been my dream to become a golden boot (top scorer). But to me, winning the team is the most important thing.” “We want to finish the season with a ranking that can advance to the UCL. I want to play in the UCL,” he said.
Son Heung-min, who performed a one-man show with two goals and one assist, was selected as the 12th best player (King of the Match) this season. Whoscore.com, a European soccer statistics site, also gave Son Heung-min a rating of 9.8 out of 10. The BBC has selected Son Heung-min as the right striker for Lee Joo’s team. Soccer expert Gas Crooks said, “Heung-Min Son scored 11 goals with his left foot in the Premier League this season. Robin van Persie (12 goals) is the only player who scored more goals with a weak foot instead of the main foot during the 20-2012 season.” .
Even with this win, Tottenham (61st and 5th on points) did not change their EPL standings. Arsenal (63rd and 4th) also won the game, maintaining the two-point gap. In the remaining four games, they have to come back once morest Arsenal and finish in the top 4 in the league to qualify for the UCL next season. The schedule is unfavorable for Tottenham. Tottenham will face Liverpool (82 points), the second-placed team in the league on the 8th. Tottenham have not beaten Liverpool since October 2017. In the first match of the season, it was a 2-2 draw despite Son Heung-min’s goal.
Dongsoon Choi reporter dosool@hankookilbo.com
