Tottenham captain Son Heung-min led Tottenham to victory with his 11th goal in the league.
Tottenham won 2-1 in the 18th round of the English Premier League (EPL) against Everton in the 2023-2024 season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England on the 24th (Korea time).
With the victory, Tottenham returned to the top four with three consecutive wins. It beat Manchester City with 36 points to settle for fourth place with 38 points. On the other hand, Everton have been on the rise from four wins to one draw in the last five official matches, but has been slowed down by the defeat. It failed to raise its ranking from 16th.
Home team Tottenham brought up the 4-2-3-1 tactic. Hishalisson was at the forefront. Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kluzewski, and Son Heung-min supported in the second line. Pape Sarr and Oliver Skipp worked together in the third line. Emerson Royal-Ben Davis-Christian Romero-Pedro was located at the four-back. The goal was guarded by Guglielmo Vicario.
Away team Everton countered with a 4-2-3-1 tactic. Dominic Calvert-Lewin played in the front line, while Jack Harrison, James Garner and Dwight McNeil were in the second line. Idrissa Gueye and Amadou Onana were in the third line, and the defense was made up by Nathan Patterson, James Tacowski, Jared Branswaite, Vitali Mykolenko. The goalkeeper’s glove was worn by Jordan Pickford.
▶ Son Heung-min, concerned about injury, will start without any problems
In the process of preparing for the match against Everton, Son Heung-min was expected to have great concerns from Tottenham fans. This is because Son Heung-min was not seen in the training video against Everton. Son Heung-min already suffered greatly from injuries last season. Along with the poor performance, the player himself had difficulty finding his condition.
This season, he had repeated injury concerns. After the match against Liverpool in the seventh round of the league, news of his injury spread. “Son Heung-min was not 100 percent against Liverpool, but he was desperate for the match. He tried to give him everything he could, and he did so,” manager Enze Postecoglou said. Despite concerns over his injury, Son continued to play as a starter through the last 17 rounds. As more and more matches were played to maintain good performance and play full-time, fans’ worries subsided. However, concerns grew again ahead of the upcoming match against Everton.
The U.K.’s TBR Football reported that “two key Tottenham players did not appear to have participated in the training ahead of the match against Everton.” Tottenham released a video of its training against Everton through its official YouTube channel. Most of its players trained under Postecoglou. There was no one who could not be left out in the video. It was Son Heung-min.
TBR Football said, “The training video did not show Tottenham captain Son Heung-min and vice captain Romero. The two most important players in Tottenham appear to have been absent from training,” referring to Son’s absence. There have been few cases where Son Heung-min was absent from Tottenham training videos, except for his absence from injury. There is a possibility that it was not filmed, but considering the positions of Son Heung-min and Romero, it is more awkward not to show a single moment. With Mickey Panderpen and James Maddison’s return approaching, Tottenham was also likely to be hit again if Son was absent.
However, Son Heung-min, who did not appear in the training video, was normally listed on the starting list, relieving fans of their worries.
▶First half
Tottenham started the match with Tottenham’s advance. Tottenham produced a fast tempo attack from the beginning of the first half to shoot. At the beginning of the first half, the ball that was connected to Kulusevski, who broke through the right side, connected a cross to reach Sarr, located in front of the penalty box arc. Sarr immediately attempted a volley, but the bound ball was easily caught by Pickford.
Everton also launched an attack. In the second minute of the first half, they seized the ball from Tottenham’s camp through strong pressure. They failed to connect the ball to the front of the goalpost, but the ball to McNeil through a conversion pass led to a corner kick. In the corner kick, Garner tried a mid-range shot, but it failed to strengthen and headed straight for Vicario.
Tottenham aimed for the back space of Everton’s defense through a quick and long pass rather than going through the center. However, Everton’s full-backs quickly stopped it and did not easily lead to an opportunity.
Son Heung-min also made a threatening counterattack as his aggressive breakthrough was cut off. In the seventh minute of the first half, Son’s attempt to break through from the left side of the penalty box to the center was cut off, and the ball that McNeil instantly crossed the half line. McNeil accurately gave the ball to Calvert-Lewin, who was rushing from the right, and Calvert-Lewin also drove it in and succeeded in entering the box. However, Romero’s accurate tackle scratched the ball as soon as he tried to shoot.
Tottenham gave the lead by scoring a goal with a collaboration between Hishalisson and Johnson. In the ninth minute of the first half, Johnson made it near the goal line through a breakthrough on the right and correctly crossed a low and fast cross towards Hishalisson, who penetrated into the box. Hishalisson smashed Pickford with a light push in front of the goal.
Hishalisson continued his upward trend by scoring in three consecutive games following multiple goals against Newcastle and the first goal against Nottingham Forest. It is the first time in four seasons that Hishalisson has scored in three consecutive games since he scored from round 14 to round 16 in the 2019-2020 season. At that time, Hishalisson’s team was Everton, the opponent.
After the first goal, Everton also fought back. After Onana stole the ball in the 15th minute of the first half, he delivered the ball to McNeil, located in the Tottenham box. McNeil without hesitation attempted a left-footed shot, which flew off the side of the net. Vicario’s save also shone. In the 16th minute of the first half, Branswaite’s sharp left-footed long pass was delivered to Mykolenko, creating an opportunity to attack. Mykolenko’s cross exactly hit Calvert-Lewin’s head in the center of the box, but Vicario calmly hit the ball to deny it a run. However, Vicario almost lost a point due to the opponent’s long kick after being out in front of the net in the 17th minute of the first half, but he escaped the crisis by kicking the ball with his own head.
Son scored his team’s second goal by scoring his 11th goal in the league. In the 18th minute of the first half, a shot that was attempted through the connection between Pororo and Kuruszewski was blocked by Pickford’s save and bounced off. Son, who calmly caught the ball, shook the net by pushing it accurately in a direction Pickford could not prevent.
Son Heung-min scored 114 goals in the Premier League, beating Ian Wright to rank 23rd in the Premier League’s overall scoring list, and narrowing the gap with Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling, who are 21st with 120 goals, to six.
Tottenham continued its offensive even after scoring two goals. In the 26th minute of the first half, Everton scored a free kick in the process of blocking Emerson’s breakthrough. However, Poro’s free kick missed the goal line. In the 28th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min shined in a counterattack situation. Following his outstanding repression, he shook the opponent’s defense with a sensible pass in the opponent’s box. In the 31st minute of the first half, Son also attempted to break through the opponent’s defense by receiving a Poro’s pass, but this time, he failed to break through after pulling it through the defensive legs.
Everton also slowly turned the ball around and sought a chance. Tottenham interfered with it under strong pressure. Mykolenko’s cross went to Calvert-Lewin in the 39th minute of the first half, but Vicario came out to block the ball and did not allow a run. In the 40th minute of the first half, Onana, who received a cutback pass from Calvert-Lewin, finished it with a mid-range shot, but the ball headed to the stands.
Everton missed the opportunity to attack in a ridiculous situation. In the 41st minute of Everton’s attack, Patterson’s cutback attempt was accurately directed towards Mykolenko, but one more ball was placed in front of the box and blocked Mykolenko’s shot. After that, the game was temporarily suspended, and Everton had a good chance to score. Everton had another chance in the 42nd minute of the first half when Kulusevski’s ball flowed to Garner, located in front of the arc of the penalty box, but Vikario easily caught Garner’s shot.
Everton took the lead midway through the first half and continued to threaten Tottenham’s goal. Tottenham pressured their opponents from the front, but did not cause much trouble in Everton’s build-up.
Everton also displayed an incredible counterattack. In the extra time of the first half, Gomes’ pass fell right in front of Harrison’s foot penetrating from the other side. Harrison made his way to the center of the box through a direct breakthrough and attempted a left-footed shot, which Vicario struck once again to display an ironclad defense. Tottenham later attempted to defend themselves in the last minute of the first half, with Emerson tackling the ball away from a critical point of loss, and Davis barely blocking the opponent’s counterattack with his legs. The first half ended 2-0 with Tottenham leading by two goals.
▶ Second half
Tottenham left out Romero and put in Eric Dier before the start of the second half. Everton pushed Tottenham again at the start of the second half. They quickly entered the Tottenham box and sought a chance.
Everton, who continued to tap Tottenham’s goal, seemed to catch up with a goal early in the second half, but it was not recognized as a goal. In the 6th minute of the second half, Gomes pressed Emerson and stole it, and Calvert-Lewin’s shot shook Tottenham’s net. However, the referee canceled the goal after judging Gomes’ pressure as a foul in the previous situation through VAR.
Tottenham also launched a counterattack. In the 10th minute of the second half, Skip advanced to the front of the Everton penalty box through pressure, and Poro’s shot was later caught in defense. Sarr tried to shoot again, but Everton calmly blocked the opponent’s attack. In the 13th minute of the second half, Poro attempted a left foot shot from the right side of the penalty box arc, but he headed far from the net. Son Heung-min tried to create an opportunity on the right side. In the 14th minute of the second half, Son Heung-min moved close to the goal line through the breakthrough on the right side of the penalty box, and later crossed, but Hishalisson failed to receive it in front of the goal due to the defense’s head.
Everton’s sharp shot was ignored by the goalkeeper. Gomes’ pass was accurately delivered to Garner in the 17th minute of the second half. Garner finished it with a sensational right footed shot, which hit the far post and flew out of the goal line.
In the 18th minute of the second half, Tottenham added strength to the midfield by excluding Hisalisson and putting in Pierre-Emile Hoivier. Son Heung-min, who was a left winger, moved to the front line and took the lead in Tottenham’s attack. Son Heung-min led the counterattack. In the 20th minute of the second half, he drove the ball directly to the front of the Everton penalty box arc and delivered a good pass to Sar, who penetrated the left side. Sar attempted to shoot with one defense, but he was caught by the defense due to lack of strength.
Everton saved Kulusevski’s sharp attack through Pickford’s defense. When Son Heung-min’s pass deflected off the opponent’s defense, Kulusevski overcame one-on-one rivalry and had a chance to shoot in the box. However, Kulusevski’s shot was not enough to penetrate Pickford’s solid defense.
Everton’s pressure threatened Tottenham. In the 32nd minute of the second half, McNeil’s pass was directed to Gomes entering the center of the box with a counterattack, who attempted to shoot with a skip in front of him, hitting the side net.
Son Heung-min hit the ground with a disappointing pass. In the 35th minute of the second half, Son Heung-min caught the ball near the arc of the penalty box, and a pass to Johnson on the right was delivered a little far away. Son Heung-min sat on the ground after the pass and expressed strong regret.
Everton saved the spark of pursuit with a comeback goal. In the 37th minute of the second half, when the ball that came up sharply from a corner kick flowed to the far side of the box, Gomes, who was rushing, kept his pace and attempted a low and fast accurate shot through the defense. Gomes’ shot went to the bottom of Tottenham’s goal accurately, and it was inserted into a corner that Vicario could not use.
Tottenham handed over the crisis, which could have allowed a tie, to Vicario’s fantastic save. In the 39th minute of the second half, Danjuma’s attempted shot flew sharply to the far side of the goal, and Vicario blew himself away and blocked the ball from heading into the goal. In the 42nd minute of the second half, Danjuma broke through to break through Kulusevski and POW, but the attack was blocked when he was caught by Rosselso’s last tackle.
Everton lost a great opportunity in the second half of extra time. Danjuma’s shot from Gomes was high in front of the goal. Danjuma had a one-on-one chance to pass McNeil’s pass in the ensuing scoring opportunity, but his shot hit the post and hit Vicario, failing to completely cross the goal line. In the end, Tottenham ended up with a 2-1 victory.
▶ Son Heung-min’s outstanding performance
Son Heung-min led Tottenham’s attack by scoring one goal, creating one chance, dribbling three times, and competing five times. After the match, Son was named the most valuable player of the match (MOM) selected by fans, and was recognized for his cancellation.
His performance was also evident in his rating. Footmob, a statistical media outlet, gave Son 7.8 points in grading, ranking third in his team after Johnson (8.6) and Emerson (8.6). Sofa Score also gave Son the fourth highest rating with 7.2 points, following Emerson, Johnson, and Porpo.
The UK’s Evening Standard also gave Son seven points in rating, giving him a positive evaluation, saying, “He carried the ball with very sophisticated control. When he scored and made it 2-0, Tottenham ultimately put him in an impregnable position.” Football London of England also gave Son seven points, and he showed an active performance by scoring his 11th goal with a cheerful shot. He had a good chance to pass in the last minute of the second half, but he blew the shot.” “90min” also praised Son, saying, “The finish was messy and the ball took quite a while, but in the end, his score was crucial.”
▶ Son Heung-min’s outstanding performance
Son Heung-min led Tottenham’s attack by scoring one goal, creating one chance, dribbling three times, and competing five times. After the match, Son was named the most valuable player of the match (MOM) selected by fans, and was recognized for his cancellation.
His performance was also evident in his rating. Footmob, a statistical media outlet, gave Son 7.8 points in grading, ranking third in his team after Johnson (8.6) and Emerson (8.6). Sofa Score also gave Son the fourth highest rating with 7.2 points, following Emerson, Johnson, and Porpo.
The UK’s Evening Standard also gave Son seven points in rating, giving him a positive evaluation, saying, “He carried the ball with very sophisticated control. When he scored and made it 2-0, Tottenham ultimately put him in an impregnable position.” Football London of England also gave Son seven points, and he showed an active performance by scoring his 11th goal with a cheerful shot. He had a good chance to pass in the last minute of the second half, but he blew the shot.” “90min” also praised Son, saying, “The finish was messy and the ball took quite a while, but in the end, his score was crucial.”
Despite being in his first season as a captain, he has also displayed strong leadership. Son was appointed as Tottenham’s captain ahead of this season. It was Postecoglou’s choice to fill the void of leadership due to Harry Kane’s transfer and the possibility of Hugo Lloris’ transfer. Son is the 41st captain of Tottenham, founded in 1882. He is also the first captain of a nationality outside of Europe.
After Bobby Buckle was appointed as the first captain in 1882, England players such as Jack Joule and Stanley Briggs were selected as captains, Tottenham became the first non-England captain in 1897. However, it was 132 years ago that non-British players were allowed to have their left armbands. Until 2014, Tottenham had 38 players as captains of their clubs, 26 from England, seven from Scotland, three from Wales and two from Northern Ireland. As such, it would have been difficult for a player from England to be the focal point of the team unless he was from England. In 2014, he appointed France’s national team member Younes Kabul as captain, and two years later, he appointed France’s national team goalkeeper Lloris as captain. And Son Heung-min became the first non-European player to become Tottenham captain. Tottenham will have a new era of both coach and captain from Asia.
Tottenham’s appointment of Son Heung-min as its captain was well received. In the 2010s, Son was recognized as a captain both inside and outside Tottenham as he was receiving the highest praise for his personality as well. Son said on his website, “It is a great honor to be the captain of this huge club. It is a great surprise and a very proud moment. I have already told my players that everyone, both inside and outside the stadium, should feel like a captain. It is a new season, a new beginning. I will give everything for this uniform and armband.”
Postecoglou also said about Son’s appointment, “Everyone knows that he is world class. He has tremendous respect from everyone in the locker room. He transcends groups in the squad. He is not just popular, but thanks to what he has accomplished here and in games as the captain of the Korean national team,” explaining that Son is second to none in terms of skill, personality, leadership, and career.
He also played a role of rebuking and encouraging the team, contributing to leading the team in the right direction. After his defeat against Aston Villa, Son said, “I am so sorry for the fans. I am sure losing three consecutive games is not how we wanted it to be, and the fans may not believe it, but I feel a strong sense of responsibility for next weekend. As a captain, I can say that everyone did their best to win this game. It was hard to create opportunities as we played the game, but I think we did everything.” He also apologized to his fans.
“I think we have to control the game more, especially with a 1-0 lead. I made a few mistakes in the 1-0 situation this season. I played a little slow, gave up a goal, delayed the game, and lost the tempo. I gave Aston Villa an opportunity to lead the game, and I think we need to be stronger than today in the set piece before halftime,” he said, also criticizing what to be careful about when the team takes the lead with the first goal.
After the draw against Manchester City, where Tottenham was active with one goal and one assist, he emphasized the direction of Tottenham’s soccer and strengthened his will to rebound. “I think the attitude of holding on to giving up until the end and the way we tried to do it went well,” he said in an interview. “Especially in the second half, I think we played a lot of games that we wanted to play as we wanted. It’s because the players all worked hard to get important points together in the most difficult places. I think this one point will be an important point as we proceed with this season,” he said.
Son Heung-min, who said, “The coach wants this kind of football,” said, “I’ve been wearing clothes that didn’t fit well for a long time, and the team is more stable by wearing these clothes quickly. The way we pursue it is important, and it is important that we play the game no matter who the opponent is,” and he expressed his firm will of coach Postecoglou.
Since then, he has been named the most valuable player of this season’s fifth match (MOTM) after the match against Manchester City. His fans overwhelmingly supported him with 40.8 percent of the time, making him the most outstanding player of the match. The British media also gave Son the best performance. Football London gave Son the best eight points in his team, and said, “He liked the goal at the Etihad Stadium. He scored a great first half and passed. An own goal was unfortunate. However, he helped his teammates score. He scored nine points, but he garnered eight points due to an unfortunate own goal.” The Evening Standard acknowledged his performance with eight points in grading, saying, “He showed remarkable skills in the first goal. He continued his good performance against Manchester City and helped with the equalizer.”
However, the team failed to rebound after losing against West Ham once again. Captain Son Heung-min’s bitter words came out again. “Whether Tottenham is a better team or not means nothing. Losing a match is unacceptable. You have to take responsibility as a player. In particular, strikers should feel responsible for ruining the match,” he said, stressing the renewal of his team including himself.
After winning against Newcastle, Son Heung-min said, “The manager wanted to play with a different idea today, he wanted to dig deeper into the back space, and he tried to put a more quality ball into the box. Hisalisson played really well in the box, and I think he is better than me in the box. He was the right striker for the position today,” adding, “He enjoyed the joy of victory by praising his teammate Hisalisson with his performance.
After the last match against Newcastle, he was also on the list of “Immigration Team” selected by the British public broadcaster BBC. BBC football expert Garth Crooks announced the 16th round of “Immigration Team,” with Alisson Becker (Liverpool) as the goalkeeper. Marcos Sennesi (Bournemouth), Tosin Adarabioyo (Fullum), and Milos Kerkes (Bournemouth) were chosen as the defense. Lewis Cook (Bournemouth), James McAtee (Sheffield United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) and John McGinn (Aston Villa) were selected as the midfielder. Son Heung-min was also on the list of strikers. Mohammed Salah (Liverpool) and Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth) were included in the strikers’ list.
“Kieran Trippier, who showed remarkable performance at Newcastle this season, was taken down by Son and replaced in the end. I don’t think a single moment has ever happened to Newcastle under normal circumstances. However, this season is not an ordinary season for Newcastle. Tottenham is great when they do it right, and we got a good result against Newcastle,” Crooks said. Ki Sung-yueng, who was watching the match against Newcastle, opened his personal social network service and praised Sonny (nickname Son Heung-min) as “On Fire” along with a lively photo on the scene.
Son Heung-min scored one goal and two assists against Newcastle, reaching the league’s 10th goal mark this season. Son Heung-min scored double-digit goals in the league, becoming a player who has scored more than 10 goals in eight consecutive seasons since the 2016-2017 season. This is a record achieved by a total of seven players, including Son Heung-min, and all of the players listed along with Son Heung-min are incredible players who have left their names in Premier League history. Including former teammate Harry Kane, Thierry Henry (Arnall), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Wayne Rooney (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), and Sadio Mane (Liverpool) were among the players who achieved their 10th goal in the league for the eighth consecutive year.
If Son Heung-min scores double-digit goals in the upcoming 2024-2025 season, he will also be tied with Kane and Aguero, who have scored double-digit goals for nine consecutive seasons. Lampard is the player who has recorded 10 consecutive seasons, and Rooney has continued that record for 11 consecutive seasons. Considering that Son Heung-min only scored four goals and one assist in the 2015-2016 season, his debut season in the EPL, and considered returning to the Bundesliga, the current record can be seen as a result of tremendous development. Son Heung-min, who endured his first season, continued to play consistently starting with 14 league goals next season and scored 23 goals in the 2021-2022 season, winning the Golden Boot (Premier League scoring king). Last season, he scored only 10 goals due to sluggishness and injury, but this season, he scored his 10th goal in the 16th round, again as the top scorer.
The performance is so impressive that it is compared to when he won the top scorer’s award in the 2021-2022 season. Son Heung-min, who has already scored 10 goals in the league, is considered one of the leading candidates for the top scorer as he ranked third after Erling Holan and Mohamed Salah. After overcoming the slump last season, he has returned to the forefront of Tottenham’s attack perfectly.
Spurs Webb said, “Son Heung-min made history against Newcastle with Tottenham’s most assists in the Premier League era. After feeling frustrated over the past few weeks, he regained his best form against Newcastle with his aggressive and energetic performance. He recorded two assists against Newcastle, which means he recorded the most assists for Tottenham since the launch of the Premier League.”월카지노
Son has posted a total of 83 assists, beating the previous No. 1 Christian Eriksen’s 82. Son has also already been one of the third-most prolific scorers in Tottenham’s history, behind Harry Kane and Jimmy Greaves. Spursweb expressed anticipation for Son’s tremendous performance, saying, ‘He is certainly showing no signs of decline, and if he plays for Tottenham for more than four years, he could have a chance to break Kane’s scoring record.’