Son Heung-min’s offside misfortune cost Tottenham three goals.
Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 1-2 reverse against Aston Villa in the 13th round of the 2023/24 Premier League (PL) season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, at 11 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Spurs dropped to fifth place in the standings after losing all three of their matches against Chelsea, Wolverhampton, and Aston Villa.
Tottenham deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation. Son Heung-min led the line up front, with Bryan Hill, Dejan Kulicepski, and Brennan Johnson in the second line. Giovani Lo Celo and Rodrigo Bentancur coordinated the attack from the back, while Destiny Udoji, Ben Davies, Emerson Royal, and Pedro Foro formed the defense. Guglielmo Vicario was in goal.
Tottenham came out aggressive early on. In the third minute of the first half, Son Heung-min’s one-touch pass to Kluczewski, who had beaten the defense in front of the goal, hit the post.
Tottenham took the lead with an early goal. In the 22nd minute, following a cross from Foro, Lo Celso unleashed a powerful left-footed strike that deflected off the Aston Villa defense and still found the back of the net.
Tottenham were immediately threatened. In the 24th minute, Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins rattled the post and looked to have given them the lead, only to have the goal ruled out for offside after video review.
However, Tottenham suffered a late stoppage-time blow. From a free-kick opportunity, Douglas Lewis’ cross was headed home by Pau Torres as he raced into the box, and Aston Villa equalized.
Aston Villa fought back. They took a 2-1 lead in the 16th minute of the second half when Watkins burst into the box after exchanging passes with Yuri Tillemans.
Tottenham went on the offensive. They pushed hard for an equalizer, but it didn’t come. In the end, they fell to Aston Villa at home.
Son Heung-min played full time and tried to score. However, the heavens were not kind. He had three goals disallowed due to offside calls.
In the 44th minute, Son found Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg near the halfway line and quickly drove in front of the goal, his shot taking a fantastic trajectory and finding the back of the net. However, the goal was disallowed when he was flagged offside on the penetration.
Four minutes into the second half, Son rattled Aston Villa’s net with a simple touch, only to have another goal disallowed as Johnson was in an offside position.
Son’s misfortune continued. In the 40th minute of the second half, he found the back of the net with a shot from Foro, but again, the goal was disallowed for offside.
Son finished the day with two shots on goal and an 88 percent passing success rate and a 6.7 rating from soccer statistics site Fúscore.com.
Football London, a British publication, gave him a rating of 6. Along with Hill and Johnson, he was the lowest rated player in the Tottenham squad.
“Aside from three goal disallowances for offside, he didn’t do much,” they wrote.
Football stats site Footmob also gave Son a rating of 6.7, the third lowest among Spurs’ starters.
However, there were others who had other things to say about Son.
The Evening Standard gave him a rating of 7 and wrote: “Son’s luck ran out. Three goals disallowed for offside. Was involved in much of Spurs’ best play. Could have had a hat-trick. He did a lot of work on his own.”
After the game, Son Heung-min said, “Of course I’m very upset when I think about the result. The players didn’t give up until the end and kept creating chances. I don’t think we deserved to lose,” he said, expressing his disappointment with the result.
“I think it’s another step up the ladder. I think we can do better if we try to learn and work harder in this situation,” he said.
On the goal disallowed due to offside, he said, “I can’t help it. I think it happened because we didn’t prepare well enough. If I had been a little more diligent, I wouldn’t have been in this situation. I feel like I didn’t help, so I feel a little bit responsible.”
Son has been in charge of Tottenham’s frontline attack this season following the departure of Harry Kane and the struggles of Heung-Min Son. With eight goals, he is in contention for top scorer.
He started his goal streak in the fourth round against Burnley. In the 16th minute, with Tottenham trailing 1-0 at the time, Heung-min equalized with a sensational chip shot after finding the keeper out of position following a passing play with Manor Solomon.
Then, Son Heung-min’s show began. In the 19th minute of the second half, after receiving a pass from Solomon, Heung-min surged forward and scored his team’s fourth goal and his second of the season with a direct shot.
Son wasn’t done scoring. In the 22nd minute of the second half, he found space behind the Burnley defense and found the back of the net again after receiving a pass from Foro. It was his first hat-trick of the season.
It was Son’s fourth career hat-trick against Burnley this season, following those at Southampton (2020/21), Aston Villa (2021/22) and Leicester City (2022/23).
Son also shone in the North London derby against Arsenal. He rattled the Arsenal net in the second minute of the first half, but was denied by an offside flag. Then, in the 22nd minute, a brilliant pass from the right flank found Johnson with a threatening shot that was saved by the keeper.
Son Heung-min, however, responded. He opened the scoring in the 42nd minute with a deft touch to deflect a pass from Madison after a scramble in the box. It was his fourth goal in the EPL this season.
The goal was named Tottenham’s goal of the month for September.
The scoring didn’t stop there. In the 10th minute of the second half, Maddison broke through on the counter-attack after winning the ball from Jorginho under pressure. He played a pass to Son Heung-min, who found himself one-on-one with the keeper. It was the fifth goal of the EPL.
Heung-min scored seven goals in the North London derby against Arsenal. That’s more than Robin van Persie, Gareth Bale, and Thierry Henry, who have five.
His multi-goal performance against Arsenal also took him to 150 career goals in a Tottenham shirt.
In September, Son had an incredible six-goal month. He was rewarded with the EPL Player of the Month award. It was the fourth time in his career, after September 2016, April 2017, and October 2020.
He then opened the scoring against Liverpool to reach the milestone of 200 European goals.
Son found the back of the net for the Reds in the 35th minute with a simple touch after receiving a cross from the left flank by Hischalisson following Maddison’s earth-shattering pass.
Son also scored against Fulham. In the 36th minute, after a simple dribble after receiving a pass from Heung-min, he curled a right-footed shot into the back of the net. It was his 152nd goal for Tottenham.
Son Heung-min opened the scoring against Crystal Palace in the 21st minute with a simple finish after receiving a pass from Maddison and Brennan Johnson. It was goal number eight.
Son’s goal against Crystal Palace was named Tottenham’s Goal of the Month for October.
In the months of September and October, Son made his presence felt, winning one Player of the Month award and two Tottenham Goals of the Month.
Heung-min has been in charge of Tottenham’s frontline attack this season due to the departure of Harry Kane and the struggles of Heurelisbon. With eight goals, he is in contention for top scorer.
Son’s performance as a frontline striker this season has led to comparisons to his idol Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo was a flanker, but after switching to the striker position, he’s stuck with it.
“He has the ability to finish with both feet,” said Sky Sports in the UK. He is following a similar path to Ronaldo, who switched from a flanker to a frontline striker.”
“Tottenham have a dedicated player in Son who scores goals and creates space for his teammates. The Kane move is paying off. He’s doing more in front of goal. He used to have less than 10% touches, but this season he’s close to 20%.”
“All six of Son Heung-min’s goals under Postecoglou have come from outside the box. It’s a useful example of a positional change.”
Postecoglou echoed the sentiment, saying, “Son is similar to Ronaldo. He started as a winger,” he said.
“He’s a really good goalie. I always feel that his movement is excellent. It’s a bit more complicated to play up front than on the flanks, but he’s clever enough to handle it.”
Son Heung-min has been in sensational form this season and the praise has been pouring in.
Tim Sherwood, a former player and manager at Tottenham, said: “It’s like he’s been reborn. I think he’s going to continue to play like that,” said Tim Sherwood, a former Tottenham player and manager.
Former Tottenham player Jamie O’Hara added: “For me, Heung-min is one of the best players in world football. You can’t deny that he’s a world-class player,” he said.
“He’s been scoring goals in the EPL for a very long time. He has regained his confidence and belief, and I think he’s a great player for a frontline striker.”
He added: “He’s on fire. If he plays every week and stays in good shape and form, we can see the end of him,” he said.
Arsène Wenger, who led Arsenal to an unbeaten title in the PL, cited Son as the ultimate reason for Tottenham’s rise, saying, “His movement into the center is very good.”
Postecoglou reportedly recognized Son’s ability as a frontline striker in 2015.
Postecoglou led the Socceroos to the Asian Cup final against South Korea in January 2015. Heung-min was one of the goalscorers.
“It was enough that he scored against us at the 2015 Asian Cup,” Postecoglou said. I’ve seen enough to know he’s a good goalie. He’s always been a goal threat,” he said.
“It’s not realistic to sign a striker who can score 25-30 goals in the transfer market. He has the ability to press and perform. The more he plays up front, the more threatening he will be in front of goal and we will have a huge asset.”
Heung-min earned the Tottenham captain’s armband ahead of the season at the behest of manager Enze Postecoglou.
His appointment as captain came as a surprise to many. However, he has taken the role in stride.
Heung-min reportedly texted vice-captain James Maddison before the opener, suggesting that he gather in a circle in front of the away fans to make them feel part of the team 캡틴토토 도메인.
“He talked to the fans and really got them moving,” Maddison marveled.
He has since shown his captain’s class by taking the players to greet and thank the away fans who have consistently supported him.
Son was also named one of the top five EPL captains of the season by British outlet Sport Kida, alongside Virgil van Dijk, Kevin De Bruyne, Martin Ødegaard, and Bruno Fernandes.
Unfortunately, Son has been on the quiet side of things since the Crystal Palace game, going silent for the third consecutive game.