Son Heung-min (32, Tottenham Hotspur) suppressed criticism against him with multiple goals.
Son Heung-min has been under harsh criticism for a week. Local media emphasized the decline as if they were waiting for Tottenham when they tied Leicester City 1-1 in the opening match of the English Premier League in the 2024-25 season, and Son also remained scoreless.
All kinds of raw criticism poured out for his poor performance in the opening match of the new season. Broadcasting played a part. British broadcaster Craig Burley said after watching Son Heung-min’s move against Leicester City, “He is largely to blame. There are many players in the offense, and they seemed to think they cannot lose this game. I felt those things in some passes and shots. I thought it was too easy. He was overwhelming Leicester City, so I even felt the arrogance that an additional goal would be scored soon.” 스포츠토토
Jamie O’Hara from Tottenham also helped. “Son Heung-min’s second half was disappointing. In fact, we had to take him away after playing in the first half.” Watchers say that Son began to suffer from the so-called aging curve.
The British media “Football365” questioned whether coach Anze Postecoglou would have the courage to exclude Son from the starting lineup. “His career is not upward. He surprised us the most in the opening game as well.”
He even made a lame argument not to regard Son as a key player. “He has shown tremendous performance at Tottenham. However, he is in the past tense. He is not an irreplaceable player now,” he said, making an absurd argument that 19-year-old winger Wilson O’Donbert, who just joined Tottenham, should be given a starting position.
O’Doubert has displayed potential by scoring three goals and three assists at Burnley last season. Tottenham also recruited O’Doubert on a five-year contract, but majority of watchers say that the recruitment is far-sighted. Neither Postecoglou nor Postecoglou put O’Doubert on the bench for the opening game. Despite this, Football 365 only attempted to undermine Son’s reputation by urging him to use O’Doubert without Son.
It was a consequential point that he would close his mouth after one game. Son Heung-min proved his ability in the very next game, against Everton. Son Heung-min, who was pressing the opponent’s defense even though he was a front-line striker, paid off. When Everton defender made a back pass to Pickford in the 25th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min accelerated the speed.
Pickford’s one-touch, which received the ball, was long. Son Heung-min, who was accelerated, took out the Pickford ball as it was and easily scored the net toward the empty goal. It was the first goal of this season and the additional goal of the game that Tottenham was waiting for.
In the second half, Son scored multiple goals with the help of defender Mickey van der Penn. After van der Penn took the ball away, he dribbled alone 73 meters. He managed to peel off the opponent team’s defense with speed and physical struggle. He attracted all four defenders to himself and passed the ball to Son, who was on the left side. Son finished the game calmly with his left foot, responding to van der Penn’s run.
The absurd assessment that Son should be brought down to the bench has disappeared. Again, Son’s comments are all positive. The statistical media “Huscoordcom” gave Son a 9.05 point rating. It only gave Son and Romero (9.05 points) nine points or more. Footmob, another statistical media outlet, also gave Son a nine point rating. The figure is the highest in both teams.
Coach Anze Postecoglou also gave Son a thumbs up. When asked, “He wants to become a legend at Tottenham, will he be able to go that far?” he asserted, “There is no such standard. I hope that no matter when he finishes his career, it will be a long future. At that point, there is no doubt that he will be on par with the legends who are currently respected at Tottenham.”
“I like the fact that he is still motivated to do more. That’s what matters to us,” he said. “He was really good today. The reason I placed him at the center was to utilize Son Heung-min, the best pressure we have at the front, as the opposing goalkeeper was a big part of the attack. He showed unbelievable performance,” he said, emphasizing the value of Son’s first goal, which was seen as Pickford’s mistake.