The time when Tottenham Hotspur caught fire was too late. In defense, he lost helplessly as the horror show continued throughout.
Tottenham lost 2-4 in an away match against Brighton and Hove Albion in the 19th round of the English Premier League in the 2023-24 season at Brighton Amex Stadium in England on the 29th (Korea time).
Due to the defeat, Tottenham failed to re-enter the Big Four with only 11 wins, three draws, five losses and 36 points. While staying in the fifth place, it provided an excuse to catch up with Manchester United at No. 6 (31 points) and West Ham United at No. 7 (30 points).
Tottenham’s mood was sky-high. Starting with a 4-1 victory over Newcastle United in the 16th round, the team gained momentum again with wins over Nottingham Forest (2-0) and Everton (2-1). Analysts say that Brighton also has an advantage this time around. As Brighton seemed to have no win in three consecutive league games, there was a clear difference.
In addition, Brighton suffered significant injuries. Ahead of the match, Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi said, “We have as many as 10 injured players. Two players cannot play at the match against Tottenham,” adding, “In particular, Kaoru Mitoma has been away for about four to six weeks.” Mitoma was a dribbler who has been in charge of Brighton’s side attacks, which was a relief for Tottenham to miss.
Naturally, the mini-Korea-Japan match between Son Heung-min and Mitoma also ended in failure. Unlike Mitoma, Son Heung-min was responsible for Tottenham’s attack without fail. As usual, Tottenham placed Hisharlisson at the forefront and placed Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski, and Brennan Johnson at the second line. They set up Pape Sarr and Pierre-Emile Hoivier as defensive midfielders, while four-backs consisted of Destiny Udogi, Ben Davies, Emerson Royal, and Pedro Poro. Guglielmo Vicario kept the goal.
The home team Brighton also responded with a 4-2-3-1 formation. They were supported by Danny Welbeck, Pascal Groff, and Fakundo Buonanote in the second line with Joao Pedro at the front line. James Milner and Billy Gilmour were in the third line, while Jack Hinselwood, Paul van Heke, Lewis Dunk, and Igor Julio were in the final line. The goalkeeper was Jason Steele.
Tottenham’s only anxiety, defense, was the problem in the end. While Mickey Van Der Pen was out of power due to an injury, Christian Romero was also out on the day, and the center back failed to operate normally. Romero’s departure was huge. Romero recently suffered an injury and is scheduled to have a recovery period of about four to five weeks.
Romero complained of pain when his center of gravity collapsed shortly after starting the match against Everton. As a result, he was replaced after the first half. At this time, the problem continued. In the end, manager Ange Postecoglou said ahead of the match against Brighton, “Romero’s physical condition is not good. After a thorough examination, it was confirmed that he has a hamstring injury. I think it will take about four to five weeks to recover.”
Romero is Tottenham’s most important center back. It is attractive to have a fight with the opponent’s striker first as a fighter. However, there are many cards because of the many bold plays. In addition, his physical condition is also hit a lot by a little too much defense. Because of this, there are many absences and Tottenham plays difficult games every time.
For this reason, Tottenham is even thinking about strengthening its center back in the winter transfer market. Various names such as Jean-Clerc Todibo (OGC Nice), Radu Dragucine (Zenoa), and Morato (Benfica) are mentioned in the local media as far as Tottenham’s defenders are aiming for. Mark Gehi is also the core of Crystal Palace in the list. On top of that, even Liverpool’s Joe Gomez has recently been mentioned, which is an urgent matter.
In Brighton away, Emerson, the side defender, was put in the middle, but it was not enough to prevent Brighton’s early offensive. Immediately after the kick-off, the build-up was struggling due to opposition pressure, and the defense was also unstable when the right to attack was given away. The more Brighton’s elaborate pass play shone, the more Tottenham had to rely on goalkeeper Vicario’s defense. From the 5th minute of the first half, they faced a crisis enough to allow Welbeck to shoot from a position closer to the penalty, and Vicario’s animal defense was impressive.
However, he overcame the crisis only once and could not avoid losing the point. Tottenham’s right defense was breached in the 11th minute of the first half. There were several defenders in front of the penalty box, but they could not prevent Pedro from hitting into the center. Meanwhile, Hinselwood caught the ball at the door and scored with a powerful shot. No matter how Vicario goalkeeper, it was not easy to prevent cannonball shooting right in front of his eyes.
Still, Vicario continued to defend himself. He defended well against Pedro’s tricky shot in the 16th minute of the first half. The crisis continued. At a corner kick defense situation in the 19th minute of the first half, Brighton’s shot hit the post and seemed to take a breather.
The problem was a foul. Video footage showed Kulusevski holding Welbeck’s top of his uniform stretched out. The referee, who conducted an on-field review, declared a penalty kick. As Pedro succeeded lightly as a kicker, Tottenham pushed the score to 0-2.
Tottenham didn’t have any resistance until then. Son Heung-min also made a shot attempt in the 8th minute of the first half. He was passive as if he could not forget the regret of accidentally handing over the right to attack in the scene where he allowed the first goal. As Son Heung-min failed to pose a threat, Tottenham was forced to keep pushing back. It was a one-sided trend of Brighton, with the gap in shooting attempts widening to 1-8 in the middle of the first half.
Tottenham allowed another crisis in the 31st minute of the first half. It gave Milner another shot on goal. The goalkeeper Vicario couldn’t even touch it, but the goal saved it. Tottenham, which avoided the loss, immediately dedicated the opportunity as Johnson had a chance at a high speed, but failed to continue shooting.
Tottenham’s net was shaken once more in the 36th minute of the first half, but fortunately, Buonanote’s offside was confirmed, which did not lead to a goal. However, they had to be on the defensive until the end of the first half. Tottenham’s defense was that poor, and the 0-2 score in the first half was felt fortunate thanks to Vicario’s good defense.
Son Heung-min exquisitely kicked with his right foot outside the left side of the box in the extra time of the first half, but missed the net slightly. Tottenham did not solve the day as no shot was made in the Son Heung-min zone.
Tottenham collapsed further in the second half. To make up for it, they stepped up their attack early in the second half. Hisharlisson had two chances to score. However, a turning shot from the goal post at the seventh minute in the second half went out of the net, and unfortunately, the shot that opened the goal at the 16th minute was offside.
When Hisharlisson failed two chances, he immediately faced a crisis. Tottenham eventually lost its third point in the 17th minute of the second half on Estupinan’s long-range shot. It was a shot that hit the top of the goal, so goalkeeper Vicario couldn’t reach it even though he reached out.
When Tottenham widened the gap by three goals, they called in Hisharlisson and Sar, and deployed Giovanni Lo Celso and Brian Hill. Son Heung-min has moved to the front line striker. In response, Brighton also tactically responded by sending Evan Ferguson and Jakub Moder instead of Welbeck and Milner.
Tottenham failed to even replacement card. Ro Celso, who sent in to score a comeback goal, made a terrible defensive mistake, giving up a penalty kick in the 27th minute of the second half. He allowed a penalty kick after forcefully backing Ferguson in the box. Brighton widened the score to 4-0 with Pedro’s success again.
Tottenham self-destructed. Still, Tottenham deployed Alejo Bellis in the 25th minute of the second half, expecting to catch up until the end. Son Heung-min’s belated help came out. In the 36th minute of the second half, Kulusevski successfully pressured and received a ball from the right side of the opponent’s penalty box, but did not want to be greedy and passed it to Bellis, who was alone in the gate. After receiving the ball, Bellis scored a comeback goal, and Son recorded his fifth assist of this season.
In the end, it was Son Heung-min who made us expect a scoring situation at Tottenham. Son Heung-min, who is the lone captain and ace this season. With this in mind, Tottenham is even considering renewing a long-term contract with Son. Recently, Football Insider reported, “According to Tottenham sources, Son Heung-min is eager to devote the rest of his career to Tottenham Hotspur. Son was very impressed by Enzi Postecoglou’s influence on the team and wants to be with him in the club’s long-term future.”
British football expert Steve Pearson also said in a “Team Talk,” “Tottenham ace Son Heung-min wants to leave the rest of his career to Tottenham. Tottenham is ready to propose a new contract that includes a huge weekly raise,” considering the possibility of making a megaton offer.
Opinions were divided. Football Insider once said, “Tottenham and Son Heung-min are ready to discuss renewal of contract with Tottenham in September,” adding, “Tottenham is first trying to invoke Son Heung-min’s one-year extension option,” but the other side reported, “There is a one-year extension option, but Tottenham may talk with Son about a completely new long-term contract renewal.”
He also has a very good public evaluation. “Son Heung-min has long shown his solid status as a PL legend,” said Goalt. “He is the best player in Asia and has scored more than 10 goals in all but the first season of the nine seasons of the PL.” As media said, Son has scored double-digit goals for eight consecutive seasons.
Son has scored 11 goals this season in the competition to become the top scorer but has also provided nutritional value to his teammates. In December alone, he had assists in matches against Manchester City and Newcastle United. With this achievement, Son has increased his attacking points to 11 goals and five assists this season, producing the second-best attacking points after Mohamed Salah (12 goals, seven assists, Liverpool) and Erling Holland (14 goals, four assists, Manchester City).
Tottenham gained more strength at the end. In the 40th minute of the second half, Davis scored a header goal from a corner kick, and quickly followed 2-4. As Tottenham gained momentum, the atmosphere heated up again. The regular time in the first and second half passed. Still, Tottenham began to squeeze out its last strength with nine minutes of extra time in the second half.
He also had a chance to catch up. Hoivier’s shot was sharp, but he suddenly lost strength when he hit the post. Tottenham launched an onslaught throughout the long extra time, and Son Heung-min also tried to score a goal with his foot on the cross, but it was not enough. In the end, Tottenham ended its three-game winning streak by bending its head down 2-4 away from Brighton.
According to soccer statistics website “Sopa Score,” Son attempted 32 passes through 52 ball touches on the day. His success rate stood at 81 percent. Instead, he had two key passes, which enabled him to lead the attack. There were some regrets in shooting on goal, but he frequently competed in the aspect of being pushed back. However, it was regrettable that he handed over ball ownership 15 times.
Son Heung-min was evaluated as displaying a bit of fighting spirit. Notably, he followed Tottenham’s strong attack with his help for the fifth time. With a 7.3 rating, SopaScore gave the team the second-best performance after Hoi Bier (7.5 points). 월카지노
“Huscoord Dotcom” gave Son 6.8 points, making it the second most acclaimed among the players who played full time after Davis and Hoi Bier (both 7.2 points). Another company, “Foot Mob,” also received the highest evaluation among strikers with 7.6 points.