Tag: Son Heung-min

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HEUNG-MIN SON’S BRACE HELP SPURS THRASH NORWICH TO SECURE UCL SPOT

Tottenham booked their return to the Champions League with a 5-0 rout at relegated Norwich where Son Heung-min earned a share of the Premier League Golden Boot.

Son scored twice in five second-half minutes to finish level with Liverpool’s Mohamad Salah on 23 goals as Spurs ran riot to complete an achievement that boss Antonio Conte had described as needing a “miracle”.

Tottenham were ninth when the Italian took over in November and then seven points adrift of fourth when they lost to Burnley in February but 10 wins from their next 14 games saw them overhaul Arsenal, Manchester United and West Ham.

Dejan Kulusevski scored twice and Harry Kane also bagged as Spurs made sure there would be no last-day failure at Carrow Road.

They will return to the premier European club competition after two seasons away and the future looks bright if they can get Conte to commit his future to the club this summer.

Norwich are heading in the opposite direction after another listless display left their home fans chanting against the board and they will have to regroup in the summer ahead of another stint in the Championship.

It never looked like it would be a case of the north London club being ‘Spursy’ as Conte’s side started confidently.

They had an early chance to ease their nerves inside the opening 10 minutes as a quick counter-attack saw Kulusevski cut back to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who blazed over when he should have scored.

That did not matter, though, as they went ahead in the 16th minute.

Hojbjerg’s ball over the top played in Rodrigo Bentancur and as he raced in on goal the midfielder squared for Kulusevski to tap in from close range.

Norwich were almost gifted an equaliser as a sloppy Eric Dier pass allowed Milot Rashica in on goal but he shot wide.

Instead, it was a poor pass at the other end that led to a goal as Spurs doubled their lead just after the half-hour.

Goalkeeper Tim Krul was playing out from the back, but he passed straight to Bentancur, who crossed for Kane to head into an empty net.

Qualifying for the Champions League was the primary goal for Spurs, but the second was for Son to overhaul Salah in the race for the Golden Boot.

He spurned a good chance in the first half as he chose to attempt a first-time volley at the far post when he had time to bring it down.

For large periods of the second half it looked like he would miss out on the silverware as he missed three golden chances.

First he saw an effort palmed away by Krul, who then produced a miraculous save to deny the South Korean from close range after a telepathic cross by Kane.

Then moments later, Kulusevski barged through on goal, rounded Krul and – with an empty net to shoot at – attempted to square to Son, who was tackled by Max Aarons.

The Swede was not going to make the same mistake as two minutes later he out-muscled a defender following Kane’s pass, cut inside and then curled a sublime effort into the far top corner.

Five minutes then changed the course of Son’s afternoon as he scored twice.

After again being denied by Krul, he got another bite of the cherry as Lucas Moura popped off a quick pass and the South Korean found the bottom corner.

Then he put himself in the outright lead as he curled a trademark effort into the far corner from 20 yards to mark mass scenes of celebration.

Salah’s late goal at Anfield did not dampen the mood as Son’s and Spurs’ season ended on a high.

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SENSATIONAL HEUNG-MIN SON HAT-TRICK SENDS SPURS THREE POINTS CLEAR IN FOURTH

Son Heung-min fired a sensational hat-trick as Tottenham took control of the race for a Premier League top-four spot with a 4-0 win at Aston Villa.

After Manchester United and Arsenal both lost earlier in the day, Son’s treble and a fine Dejan Kulusevski strike sent Spurs three points in clear in fourth.

It was a fourth win in a row, a seventh from the last nine and makes it difficult to look past them in the battle for Champions League qualification following Antonio Conte’s transformation of this team.

Their deadly front three, with Harry Kane creating two of the goals, sealed the victory, but Spurs also have skipper Hugo Lloris to thank just as much.

After Son’s early opener they were on the rack for most of the first half, with the Frenchman’s heroics keeping a rampant Villa at bay.

Their lethal quality on the break in the second half saw them run away with it and inflict a fourth straight defeat on Steven Gerrard’s side.

Tottenham would have enjoyed watching the results from earlier in the day come in, providing them with a real opportunity to take control of their top-four hopes.

And they could not have dreamed of a better start as they went ahead in just the third minute through Son.

Kane’s drilled shot hit Matty Cash in the midriff and fell perfectly to the South Korean, who fizzed a fine first-time effort into the bottom corner.

But Villa’s response was admirable and Spurs needed their captain Lloris to step up with three big saves.

First he palmed away a low Cash effort, then somehow clawed away Jacob Ramsey’s effort at the near post after the Villa man had weaved into the area before also stopping John McGinn’s swerving shot from distance.

The hosts were all over Spurs like a rash, not letting their visitors breathe, and the chances kept on coming.

Danny Ings shot straight at Lloris from a well-worked free-kick, Ollie Watkins headed over from Phillipe Coutinho’s cross and then saw the Spurs stopper make another save.

The Frenchman was the busiest player on the pitch and had to keep out a Coutinho free-kick at the near post as he ended the first half with seven saves to his name.

Gerrard will have been scratching his head as to how his side were not comfortably in front by the interval, so he probably knew what was coming in the second half.

Just five minutes after the restart Spurs doubled their lead with a moment of real quality.

Kane flicked on Lloris’ long ball into the path of Kulusevski and the Swede did brilliantly to fire a low shot across goal and into the far corner.

Villa had run out of steam and Spurs landed a killer blow in the 66th minute as the Kane-Son partnership delivered again.

It was Kane’s brilliant awareness that set Son clear, knowing exactly where to direct his headed flick, and the South Korean coolly converted past Emi Martinez.

Son completed his hat-trick five minutes later, putting the finishing touches to a brilliant team move.

Kane and Son combined to play Kulusevski in down the right and after a mazy run he cut back to Son, who swept home in style to claim the matchball.

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SON BAGS A BRACE AS TOTTENHAM CLOSE IN ON TOP FOUR WITH WESTHAM WIN

Son Heung-min’s double saw Tottenham register a huge win in the race for Champions League qualification as they beat West Ham 3-1.

The South Korean scored twice, having also been involved in Kurt Zouma’s own goal, as Spurs made it four Premier League victories from five to close the gap on fourth-placed Arsenal.

They are now three points behind the Gunners, who have a game in hand but still have to visit their north London rivals in a clash that is yet to be rescheduled.

Antonio Conte’s men, who also climbed above the Hammers, will believe they have the momentum in the battle for the top four as they signed off for the international break in style.

This was a damaging defeat for West Ham, who got on the scoresheet through Said Benrahma, in their own pursuit of the top four as they are six points behind the Gunners having played two games more and winning the Europa League may now be their most realistic route of getting Champions League football next season.

The Hammers’ exertions against Sevilla on Thursday night must have played a part as Tottenham made an impressive start and went ahead in the ninth minute, becoming the beneficiaries of another own goal.

Matt Doherty won the ball high up the field with some good pressing, Harry Kane squared to Son and the last touch came from Kurt Zouma – the sixth time an opposition player has put through his own net against Spurs this season.

West Ham should have levelled almost instantly as Eric Dier was muscled off the ball by Michail Antonio, but he drilled inches wide.

A matter of inches also denied Spurs a second shortly afterwards as a forging run by Dejan Kulusevski, followed by a one-two with Kane, saw him break into the box and his pullback was turned onto a post by Son.

The South Korean finally got his goal as Spurs doubled their lead in the 24th minute as he again paired up with Kane.

Kane’s defence-splitting pass sent him clear and he lashed the ball past Lukasz Fabianski with the aid of a deflection.

Spurs were in total control, but they allowed West Ham back into the game 10 minutes before the break as they were punished for some poor defending.

Doherty conceded a needless corner which was allowed to make its way to the far post where Benrahma was waiting to convert, having lost his marker.

The second half was on a knife edge as both sides had chances in the first 15 minutes.

Kane wasted a massive chance to make it 3-1 as a heavy first touch from Son’s through ball allowed Fabianski to come out and make a save, while Antonio blazed well over at the far post from Aaron Creswell’s cross.

Spurs began to find space on the counter-attack and had Sergio Reguilon any sort of confidence in the penalty area he might have been able to extend the lead, but after two Kane passes put him in the clear, he first elected to go down looking for a penalty and then shot straight at Fabianski.

The England captain was then guilty of missing a golden chance to wrap the game up with 10 minutes remaining.

A clever pass by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg played him in on goal, but Kane skied his effort when trying to clip the ball over Fabianski.

Spurs finally ensured it would not be a nervy finish as Son killed the game in the 88th minute, latching onto Kane’s header and converting with ease for the pair’s 39th goal combination in the Premier League.

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TOTTENHAM BEAT MANCHESTER CITY WITH LONE GOAL FROM HEUNG-MIN SON

Nuno Espirito Santo started his tenure as Tottenham Hotspur manager with a 1-0 win over 2020-21 Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday.

Harry Kane, who has been linked with a move to City, wasn’t in the squad for the match.

Son Heung-Min scored the game’s only goal in the second half after a strong counter-attack from Tottenham.

The goal came against the run of play with City dominating possession and shots.

Spurs broke with the ball after Hugo Lloris had saved a City attempt. Steven Bergwijn found Son who had raced down the pitch. He slotted the ball past Ederson who didn’t have time to dive to save it.

England captain Kane only returned to training with Spurs on Friday after an extended break following Euro 2020.

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HEUNG-MIN SON SCORES WINNER AS SPURS BEAT ARSENAL IN PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY

Son Heung-Min’s 79th-minute strike gave Tottenham a 1-0 win over north London rivals Arsenal in a feisty friendly on Sunday.

Son’s left-foot drive after good work from substitute Japhet Tanganga ensured Spurs completed their preseason preparations with a hard-fought victory in front of around 25,000 fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It was the final match in The Mind Series — a competition between Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea organised to promote better mental health — with Spurs drawing 2-2 at Chelsea on Wednesday after Chelsea had beaten Arsenal 2-1 at Emirates Stadium last weekend.

Harry Kane was absent as he continues to isolate at the club’s training ground hotel after returning for preseason on Saturday but Spurs otherwise named a strong line-up with Hugo Lloris returning in goal and Son leading their attack.

Despite his absence, Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo said: “Harry is with us… I will speak with Harry probably as soon as possible because he is already at [Spurs’ training ground where he is isolating]. Not today, today was the day of the match but we have a training session [on Monday] and with social distancing I will hopefully speak with Harry.”

Spurs’ new signing Cristian Romero also didn’t feature because of a knee injury and Nuno added: “He didn’t train yet with the group, it is true. He finished the last game with a problem. It is much better now but we have to be very careful first, not take any chances. Like all the players, [Giovani Dos Santos], didn’t have many sessions, Hugo [Lloris], we have to manage a lot of aspects until we decide to put the player on the pitch. But he is here, he looks good. When he starts training in a normal way, he will become an option.”

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta partnered Albert Sambi Lokonga, an £18 million summer signing from Anderlecht, with Granit Xhaka in midfield and that pairing gradually gave the visitors a degree of control in the first half after a lively start from Spurs.

Son volleyed wide from the edge of the box in the sixth minute and should have scored 10 minutes later when side-footing straight at Bernd Leno from five yards out after good work from Lucas Moura.

However, Alexandre Lacazette began to influence proceedings and tested Lloris with a 25-yard shot which the Spurs goalkeeper turned behind before hitting the post with another effort from a similar distance.

Dele Alli was then booked for a late tackle on Nicolas Pepe, a sign of the competitive undercurrent which ran throughout a first half which ended with Arsenal on top yet Tottenham creating the best chance.

A good passage of play from the hosts saw Son tee up Alli as he arrived in the box but he could only hit the post from close range with the goal at his mercy.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Arteta exchanged words early into the second period after the former came close to colliding with the latter as he attempted to keep the ball in play. Arteta poked his finger into Hojbjerg’s chest as the Spurs midfielder argued he was out of his technical area, prompting an intervention from referee David Coote.

Arsenal duo Kieran Tierney and Xhaka were booked for late challenges before Spurs hit the woodwork again just before the hour mark.

Davinson Sanchez flicked on Son’s free kick from the right to the far post where Alli tried to turn it goalwards but he hit the upright again.

A brief cessation in hostilities saw Spurs fans warmly applaud Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka onto the pitch as he was introduced in the 63rd-minute for his first outing since missing a penalty in England’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy last month.

Spurs continued to look the more likely to score and eventually broke the deadlock when Tanganga persevered to force his way into the box before finding Son, who beat Leno with a powerful finish.

Eric Dier clipped the crossbar with a late free kick but Spurs saw the game out to condemn Arsenal to their second consecutive preseason defeat.

Asked postmatch about the absence of Rob Holding and Joe Willock, Arteta said: [They were missing for] two different reasons. Rob wasn’t available, he wasn’t fit enough to play today and with Joe, we will explain the reasons when we can. That’s all I can say now. When I can say more, I will let you know.”

Arsenal begin their Premier League campaign on Friday night at Brentford while Spurs host champions Manchester City next Sunday.

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SON, BALE HANDS MASON WINNING START AS SPURS RETURNS FOCUS TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE

Tottenham took the first steps of moving on from their European Super League shame as they began life after Jose Mourinho with a late 2-1 Premier League win over Southampton.

It has been a tumultuous 72 hours for Spurs as since they last played at Everton on Friday night they joined the ESL, sacked Mourinho, appointed 29-year-old Ryan Mason as interim head coach and then, after much derision, buckled under the weight of extreme resistance to the breakaway plans and quit.

After fans protested before the game against chairman Daniel Levy and owners ENIC, things did not look like they were going to get better in the wake of Mourinho’s exit as Danny Ings gave Southampton a first-half lead.

But Gareth Bale, back in the side after being frozen out under Mourinho, levelled and then minutes after VAR had ruled out a Son Heung-min goal, the decision-review system awarded Spurs a penalty at the death, which Son struck home.

It was just the tonic the beleaguered club needed going into Sunday’s Carabao Cup final and they move back into the top six, just two points off the top four.

It was also a fairy-tale evening for Mason, who joined Spurs as an eight-year-old and was cruelly forced to retire as a player aged just 26, beginning what could be a seven-game reign with a win.

Southampton, who lost in the FA Cup semi-final at the weekend, have not enjoyed life in the Premier League in 2021 and are still not out of relegation danger, sitting just six points above the drop zone.

The stadium announcer began his pre-match address by saying “it has been an intriguing few days” and that does not quite do it justice.

Fans were not going to let Spurs forget their part in the much derided breakaway plans and a number of them gathered outside the ground to protest.

Events off the pitch had provided distraction from just how dismal it has been for Spurs on it recently, but once the action got under way it was soon back front and centre of everyone’s minds.

Southampton arrived with just three Premier League wins this year but should have gone ahead inside the first five minutes as goalkeeper Hugo Lloris produced a fine double save.

First he did brilliantly to palm away Mohammed Salisu’s header and then recovered superbly to keep out Che Adams’ follow-up with his legs.

Mourinho may no longer be in the building but the same defensive problems exist and Saints took a deserved lead after 30 minutes.

Ings got in front of Serge Aurier from a corner and sent a glancing header in off a post for his 12th goal of the season.

Mason had vowed to send his side out to be brave and aggressive, but, robbed of star man Harry Kane, it was a lifeless performance in the opening 45 minutes.

However, they should have gone in level at half-time as Lucas Moura missed a great chance as he blazed over at the far post.

It did not take much, but there was a big improvement after the break and Bale was at the forefront of it.

A lovely flick teed-up Son, whose shot was blocked, and then a trademark swerving effort from distance tested the handling of Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.

The deserved equaliser came on the hour and it was a moment of class from Bale.

Tottenham’s best move of the game saw Tanguy Ndombele, Son and Moura combine, with the latter’s blocked shot falling to the Welshman at the far post and he sent a delicious curling effort in off the far post.

Spurs thought they had scored the winner 16 minutes from time with what looked like a lovely goal.

Giovani Lo Celso played in Sergio Reguilon, whose pull-back to Son was arrowed into the bottom corner. However, VAR spotted Moura in an offside position in McCarthy’s line of sight, even though the goalkeeper had no chance of saving it.

But VAR paid them back in the 89th minute as, after a free-kick was initially awarded by referee David Coote for a foul by Moussa Djenepo, replays showed it took place on the line of the 18-yard box and was ruled as a penalty.

Son stepped up to strike home the spot-kick and give Spurs fresh impetus.

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SON HEUNG-MIN RACIALLY ABUSED AFTER TOTTENHAM’S DEFEAT TO MANCHESTER UNITED

Tottenham have condemned “abhorrent” racist abuse directed at Son Heung-min on social media following Sunday’s 3-1 home loss to Manchester United.

The South Korea forward was involved in an incident which saw an Edinson Cavani goal controversially ruled out in the first half for the visitors, with Scott McTominay adjudged to have fouled Son in the build-up.

Son was targeted with racist insults both in replies to a tweet from Spurs’ official account and in the comments section on his most recent Instagram post.

“Another matchday and more abhorrent racial abuse suffered by one of our players,” a statement from the north London club read.

“This has again been reported to the platforms and we shall now undertake a full review alongside the Premier League to determine the most effective action moving forward.

“We stand with you, Sonny.”

The PA news agency has contacted Twitter and Instagram for a response.

Son became the latest victim in a seemingly endless string of online racist abuse, with Raheem Sterling having received hateful messages in the wake of Manchester City’s 2-1 loss to Leeds on Saturday.

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KANE, SON HELP SPURS DECIMATE LEEDS TO MOVE UP TO THIRD.

Harry Kane and Son Heung-min each scored and provided an assist as Tottenham Hotspur won 3-0 against Leeds United to go third.

Leeds started the stronger and Ezgjan Alioski hit the side-netting in the fourth minute.

Spurs won a penalty on 29 minutes when Alioski fouled Steven Bergwijn on the edge of the area. Kane converted for his 10th league goal of the season.

On 43 minutes, Kane crossed for Son to score the second with a sweeping finish. It was Son’s 100th goal in all competitions for Spurs and the 13th time the pair have combined this season, a joint Premier League record.

Toby Alderweireld confirmed the win with a header from Son’s corner five minutes after the break.

Leeds threatened throughout, but failed to score in an away match for the first time this season.

Matt Doherty’s stoppage-time red card for a second booking was the only negative for Spurs, who have 29 points, four behind Liverpool and Manchester United.

Leeds are six points behind in 12th.

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BURNLEY 0-1 SPURS: HARRY KANE’S EIGHT ASSIST AND SON’S EIGHT GOAL OF THE SEASON SEAL VICTORY FOR MOU’S SIDE.

Son Heung-min’s late header sent Tottenham Hotspur up to fifth place in the Premier League after a 1-0 away success at Burnley.

The match sparked into life late in the second half after Harry Kane cleared a header from Burnley’s James Tarkowski off the line.

Son passed up one clear chance before Harry Kane flicked on a corner to the South Korean, who dived headlong to break the deadlock on 76 minutes.

Earlier in a close contest Ashley Barnes’ 20th-minute effort was ruled out for offside and in the second half Josh Brownhill shot just wide for the hosts before Tarkowski headed over.

Kane intervened to keep out a second Tarkowski header before Son struck the winner for a league-leading eighth goal of the season.

Spurs move up to fifth place with 11 points, two off the lead, while Burnley lie 18th.