Son shows outstanding performance, leading to opponent’s own goal

“Sometimes games are determined by outstanding players and they had that player on the pitch in Son who won the game for them today,” said Dean Smith, the football manager of Aston Villa, who lost against Tottenham Hotspur. It was Son Heung-min who was involved in two goals to save his team from a losing streak with his fast speed.

In the seventh round of the English Premier League (EPL), a home game against Aston Villa held in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday, Son had one assist and showed a play that led to the opponent’s own goal, leading his team to a 2-1 win. It was his first assists in the league, and he recorded three goals and two assists so far during the season. Thanks to Son’s one-man-show, Tottenham Hotspur escaped from a three-game losing streak and is ranked in eighth place in league with four wins and three losses.

“Last few weeks have been quite tough. I felt responsible for the team’s performance. Despite challenging September, I wanted to not give up and bring my best for the fans,” Son said after the game. “Today’s win is not the end. A season is like climbing a mountain. You can’t always go up. Sometimes things don’t go well, but that is when you have to come together as a team. We need to climb up again.”

Son’s attack with fast direction changes was effective in a counterattack. When Son widened the distance from the opponent’s defense player, the ball was passed to him. After receiving the ball, he turned to the goalpost and had a one-on-one with a defensive player. In the 27th minute of the first half, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg passed the ball to Son, running to the side. Son pretended to dribble in a one-on-one situation but passed the ball back to Højbjerg in the center of the goalpost, leading to the team’s first goal.

In the 26th minute of the second half with a score of 1-1, Son received a pass on the left side. He got behind a defensive player after changing the direction and gaining speed and kicked the ball between Lucas Moura and the opponent’s goalkeeper. The ball hit Moura and Aston Villa’s Matt Targett and went into the net. Even though it was later corrected as Aston Villa’s own goal, it was practically produced by Son.


Jae-Yeong Yoo elegant@donga.com