Son shows his worth once more in Tottenham win
Tottenham eased past Huddersfield on Saturday, extending their unbeaten run to 11 games in the Premier League.
In recent years, a handful of individual players have stolen the headlines at Tottenham. The likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen all deserve the credit they get, but Heung-min Son deserves at least some of the credit those three tend to get.
The winger scored a brace to give Tottenham all three points at Wembley against Huddersfield on Saturday, but his performance outside the goals displays the qualities that not only make Son a great winger, but also that make Tottenham a great side.
The opening minutes of this match were tight and intense. Huddersfield boss David Wagne, has taken plenty of inspiration from his former colleague, Jurgen Klopp, and sets his side up to press high and play without fear. The German manager was clever in his setup, having his players pressure Mousa Dembele in possession.
Dembele has become an important cog for Muaricio Pochettino, particularly in helping his side transition from defense to attack. Huddersfield ensured that every time that Dembele had the ball at his feet, he was swarmed by at least two or three players.
As the home side struggled to get out of their own half, Son dropped deeper to receive the ball and run at the Huddersfield defense, often beating two or three defenders with some hypnotic dribbling.
The Korean continued to demonstrate a coolness under pressure and some fantastic ball retention despite the best efforts of the Terriers defense. It was only when the ball began to go out wide to Son that Spurs truly began to threaten in attack.
His opening goal summed up the Korean’s first half. Taking advantage of Huddersfield’s fractured offside trap, Alli played Son into a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, who rushed out to meet the winger. Instead of chancing a shot, Son took the ball past Jonas Lossl and slotted home into an empty net.
When he scored his second, Huddersfield were in the middle of their best period of the game. They had at least two good chances to score, before Spurs caught them on the counter. A brilliant Harry Kane pass found Son in acres of space to head home and to put the game beyond doubt.
The Korean winger took some time to adjust to life in England, but beginning in the second half of last season has emerged as one of the league’s elite attackers. His brace on Saturday brought his goal tally up to 14 for the season, matching his haul for last season with another nine games left to play. Outside of Kane, no one has contributed more goals for Tottenham.
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It’s important to highlight that Son’s decision to come deep was made shortly after Huddersfield started pressing Dembele. Such an impressive display of in-game adaptability and awareness, it demonstrated all the qualities that makes Mauricio Pochettino’s side great.
There’s a misconception among fans that many Spurs players, particularly Kane, are one-dimensional. The reality is this Tottenham side is extremely well-rounded and filled with dynamic individuals, which makes them among the more enjoyable sides to watch this season.
Nothing proves this point more than Tottenham’s second goal. Kane, instead of playing the poacher in the center, was out wide and put in a beautiful cross for Son at the back post. The ability to create chances out of nothing is as much in Kane’s repertoire as the ability to finish those chances is in Son’s. The latter, in particular, deserves much more credit than he gets.