Son ends 46-day dry spell with a score

South Korean forward Son Heung-min has ended his scoring draught with the season’s 11th goal. He headed in the 79th-minute winner on Thursday when the score was tied one-one in a 2019-2020 England Premier League (EPL) match against Norwich City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. When Dele Alli’s shoot was blocked by a defender and rose high, Son nodded it in at the back post.

It was the first win for Tottenham, which has had a dry spell (2 ties and 2 losses) for the last four matches in 2020. It now stands at nine wins, seven ties and eight losses (score: 34), ranking the sixth. It scores the same as Wolverhampton with eight wins, 10 ties and five losses, but Tottenham (+6) defeated Wolverhampton (+2) in goal points.

It was Son’s first score in 46 days since his much-lauded goal against Burnley in the Premier League on December 8. He remained silent in seven matches after he had kicked the chest of a Chelsea player on December 23 and was suspended for three games. Tottenham manager José Mourinho tried to boost his morale a day before the Thursday match, saying, “Son will score a goal one day, and that will be tomorrow.”

Son scored a goal as Mourinho had expected. "(The drought) was very tough for me. Therefore I tried to be calm and work for the team,” he said. “At the last minute, the ball came to me." Tottenham will match against Southampton in FA Cup on Sunday.


Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com