Winner of Puskas Award Son Heung-min finds the net in Puskas Arena

The first match of the Round of 32 for the UEFA Europa League 2020-2021 between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolfsberger AC was held at the Puskas Arena on Friday. Thirteen minutes into the first half of the game, Gareth Bale of Tottenham Hotspur who rushed into the right side of the penalty area of Wolfsberger AC made a strong cross to Son Heung-min between defenders. Son who was in front of the goalpost changed the direction of the ball with a header and found the net. It was the first goal of the team, as well as his 18th goal of the season. British broadcasting company Sky Sports praised it as a “wonderful technical goal.”

Son who won the Puskas Award last year for the first time as a South Korean player set another milestone with the goal on Friday at the stadium named after legendary Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskás. The South Korean player won the Puskas Award presented to the best goal of the year for his “wonder goal” after dribbling 73 meters across the field against Burnley in December 2019.

The Friday match was originally scheduled to be held at the home stadium of Wolfsberger AC. However, the venue changed to a more neutral place due to COVID-19.

While his close teammate Harry Kane missed the game to take a break, Son led the team’s 4-1 win with the first goal. Even though he only played for the first half of the game, Son still recorded the most shoots among Hotspurs. The U.K. public broadcasting company BBC scored Son’s performance second place in the team. “They were excellent in the first half but were much less impressive after replacing Son with Carlos Vinicius at half-time,” BBC said emphasizing the presence of Son.


hun@donga.com