Son Heung-min becomes the Premier League's top scorer

Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min scored an opener in the 5th minute in the match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday local time. At the ninth round of the 2020-2021 English Premier League matches, the South Korean star footballer led his team’s 2-0 victory. It was his first goal in five matches since scoring in the match against Burnley FC on October 27, and the ninth goal in the league (11th goal in the season), elevating him to the top scorer. With a four-game winning streak, Tottenham have secured a winning point of 20 (6 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss), to rank atop in the league.

Son’s superb capability in instant penetration, which the opponent team’s defenders are most wary of, demonstrated its merit again on the day. Under pressure by Manchester City’s midfielders, Tanguy Ndombele passed the ball over the final defense line and Son dashed ahead and touched the ball before kicking with his right foot to score. Son was able to avoid committing offsite through very clever moves.

Tottenham coach Jose Mourinho used to have Son as left wing attacker in the 4-2-3-1 formation, but this time he deployed Son on the right side to outfox Man City. Tottenham’s second goal at 20th minute in the second half was also made possible as Son pulled away a pullback by moving from the center to a side: At the very moment, Giovani Lo Celso managed to seize a nice chance to score on the other side of the ground.

With Sunday’s goal, Son demonstrated anew that he is a “predator of Man City.” He had six goals and one assist during 11 matches against Man City. “Luckily, I had several chances to score at the matches against Manchester,” Son said. Since Man City is a strong team, I have studied and prepared myself.”


Jae-Yeong Yoo elegant@donga.com