Son Heung-min challenges to achieve his 100th EPL goal

Son Heung-min of Tottenham will try to achieve his 100th English Premier League (EPL) goal.

On Saturday, Tottenham will play the 2022-2023 EPL home game against Brighton. Son Heung-min, who started playing for Tottenham in August 2015, has scored 141 goals in the past eight seasons, ranking 7th in the club's all-time highs. In the EPL, he has 99 goals and 50 assists.

Son Heung-min, who scored his 99th EPL goal against Nottingham on March 12, failed to score in subsequent matches against Southampton and Everton. His 99 goals would put him 34th all-time on the EPL's all-time scoring list. If Son achieves his 100th goal, he will become the first Asian player. He scored 23 goals in the Premier League last season, tied with Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) for the top scorer. This is the first record by an Asian player. Son has appeared in 27 league matches this season, scoring six goals and four assists.

The match is also drawing attention with a head-to-head match against Japan's Kaoru Mitoma. After joining Brighton in 2021, Mitoma was loaned to Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium) and has played in the EPL since this season. Mitoma is a left-sided striker like Son Heung-min. This season, he played 22 league games, scoring seven goals and four assists, including offensive points (two goals and three assists) in the last five consecutive games. This is the most goal among Asian players playing in the EPL of the season.

Tottenham must defeat Brighton to up its chances of entering the top 4, where tickets to the UEFA Champions League will be given next season. With 50 points, Tottenham is currently ranked 5th. If Tottenham wants to catch up with Newcastle in 3rd place and Manchester United in 5th place (53 points each), it will have to stop Brighton in 6th place (46 points) and move forward.


Dong-Wook Kim creating@donga.com