| Heung-min Son of Tottenham Hotspur. AP News |
Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League (EPL) is in crisis. Heung-Min Son, the top scorer in the EPL last season, was not able to use it properly, and he looked frustrated.
Tottenham Hotspur are in third place with 5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss (17 points) in the EPL until the morning of the 8th (Korean time). This is not a bad result on the surface, as it is one step up from last season’s fourth place. But recently, the momentum has waned. On the 1st, in the away match once morest their biggest rival, Arsenal, they suffered a 1-3 crushing defeat. In addition, in the UEFA Champions League, they have lost 2 matches in a row (1 draw, 1 loss) and are in danger of advancing to the round of 16. In particular, the Brighton & Hove Albion match, which will be held at 1:30 am on the 9th, has become very important because they have not won the last two official matches. If they show a bad performance once morest Brighton, the Champions League match once morest Frankfurt (Germany) to be held on the 13th is expected to be shaken.
Tottenham did not show off their firepower in the match once morest Arsenal on the 1st and Frankfurt on the 5th. 1 goal in 2 matches. The momentum of a 6-2 victory over Leicester City in the Premier League on the 18th of last month has disappeared. In particular, Son Heung-min, who scored three goals as a substitute once morest Leicester City, was silent once morest Arsenal and Frankfurt. Heung-Min Son was tied for the top scorer with 23 goals last season, but this season he has only 3 goals.
This season, Tottenham Hotspur have not been able to properly utilize Son Heung-min, who has long-term speed and penetration. Even the local media pointed it out. Tottenham placed Heung-Min Son on the left flank, but allowed him to penetrate into the center when attacking, and asked left wing-back Ivan Perisic to break through the flanks. As a result, the competition with the central defender increases, so Son Heung-min’s stamina cannot come out. Also, due to the heavy defensive burden, his physical consumption is very high. Son Heung-min goes down to the Tottenham box when defending, and then breaks through the opponent’s box.
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But once morest Leicester City, it was different. Son Heung-min was put in as a forward two-top striker, and when he counterattacked, he showed off his speed. In addition, Perisic was used as a right wing-back, so the line with Son Heung-min did not overlap. And thanks to the less burden on the defense, he rushed into the enemy line more aggressively. This is why Son Heung-min scored a hat-trick.
The game once morest Brighton is very important for Tottenham. If we lose, our 3rd place will be at stake. If 4th-placed Brighton beat 3rd-placed Tottenham by two goals, the standings will be reversed. Moreover, Brighton played one less game than Tottenham. If you lose, you will be at a very disadvantage in future ranking competition. And the downward trend puts pressure on Frankfurt.
Son Heung-min must also break the goal silence. A goal is needed to maintain the sense of goal that was improved by the match once morest Leicester City and A. In particular, adding one goal puts him on a par with striker Emmanuel Adebayor (Semasi), who played in the EPL in the 2000s. Son Heung-min is ranked 35th in this division with 96 goals in his career, while Adebayor is 34th with 97 goals. Adebayor also played for Tottenham. But it’s not easy. Son Heung-min was weak once morest Brighton. He has scored one goal in 10 games of his career, the first and last to score in December 2017, five years ago.
Reporter Heo Jong-ho