Tottenham Hotspur’s Heung-Min Son celebrates with Harry Kane, who scored the second goal during the match against Brighton in the English Premier League during the 2021-22 season at the Amex Stadium in Palmer, England, on the 17th. Brighton = AP News
English Premier League (EPL) Tottenham Hotspur saved hopes of advancing to the UEFA Champions League (UCL) thanks to the performance of ‘ace’ Harry Kane. However, Son Heung-min (30), who had recently faltered, left a disappointment by continuing to keep the goal silence.
Tottenham Hotspur won the match against Brighton in the 16th round of the 2021-22 season held at the Amex Stadium in Palmer, England on the 17th (Korean time).
Tottenham Hotspur, who struggled with Brighton’s strong pressure, scored a lucky opening goal in the 37th minute of the first half. It started with Heung-Min Son. Heung-Min Son’s ball from the left side of the penalty box was handed over by Dejan Kulusevsky with a shot, and it was deflected by Christian Romero’s foot in front of the box and went straight into the goal. In the 12th minute of the second half, another goal came from Kane’s toe. After receiving a piercing pass from Rodrigo Bentancourt, Kane dug into the back of the defense and put a calm left-footed shot into the near post.
Kane has been sluggish at the beginning of the season. He made his transfer official after the team failed to qualify for the Champions League on each occasion, which caused noise. He does not participate in team practice and has been controversial. His unfaithful attitude led to sexuality. Kane, who won both the top scorer and assist title last season, only scored one goal in his first 15 games.
However, Kane changed gradually after Nunu Santo was sacked and Antonio Conte took over. He drove 7 goals and 1 assist in his last 6 league matches, and scored his 12th N League goal that day, beating Son Heung-min (11 goals) to become the team’s top scorer.
He also wrote the history of the Premier League. With the goal today, Kane surpassed retired Wayne Rooney (94 goals) to become the top scorer in EPL away matches (95 goals). He also scored 178 goals in his career in the Premier League, moving up to fifth place in history and number one on active duty.
On the other hand, Son Heung-min remained silent on this day as well. ‘Whoscored.com’ gave three people, including Heung-Min Son, a rating of 7 or less. ‘Evening Standard’ gave Son Heung-min a rating of 4, which is only half that of Kane, criticizing Son Heung-min, saying, “It didn’t look good because of the performance that was below expectations. It doesn’t seem to fit with Conte’s system. It looks like he needs a break.”
Physical problems are pointed out. Tottenham Hotspur’s FA Cup and Corona 19 postponement match I played 10 games in a month and a half from February. Heung-Min Son started all of these matches and played most of the full-time. In Conte soccer, which aims to counterattack, the physical burden was concentrated on sprinter Son Heung-min. Heung-Min Son’s range of activities increased as Klusevsky entered through the winter transfer window.
However, Conte remains confident. Conte said, “I’m not crazy” about the possibility of Son Heung-min’s exclusion being mentioned in a pre-match interview. He said, “Heung-Min Son is a player who can change the result. Players who play every game may not be in the best condition for a certain period of time. said.
With this victory, Tottenham Hotspur (7th, 48 points) narrowed their points with 4th-placed Arsenal, which is given a ticket to the Champions League, to three points. The next opponent is West Ham, who will face 6th place on the 21st. After this match, the EPL will go into a short match A break.
Dongsoon Choi reporter dosool@hankookilbo.com