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| Son Heung-min is fighting the ball with opponent Vladimir Coupal during the Premier League (EPL) match against West Ham United held at the London Stadium on the 21st (local time). © AFP=News1 |
Tottenham Hotspur, who reached the top of the English Premier League at the beginning of the season, seems to be losing power. Son Heung-min (29), who is in charge of the team’s ace role, is also tired of the intense check of the opponent and the tight schedule of biting the tail.
Tottenham lost 1-2 in an away match against West Ham United in the 25th round of the 2020-21 English Premier League (EPL) held at the London Stadium in England on the 21st (Korean time).
Recent EPL 6 games, 1 draw, 5 losses. With 10 wins, 6 draws and 8 losses (36 points), Tottenham was pushed to 9th place. The gap with West Ham (45 points), which was awarded 4th place in the European Football Federation (UEFA) Champions League next season, widened to 9 points. Son Heung-min also looks difficult.
Son Heung-min, who is currently playing games twice a week, such as the League and Europa League, is struggling physically.
Although he played only 45 minutes against Wolfsberg in the Europa League (Austria), the aftermath of the 120 minute battle against Everton in the FA Cup (4-5 losses) and the expedition to Budapest (Hungary) (4-1 wins) was felt.
In the match against West Ham, Son Heung-min had no such activity except for a few early games. There was no appearance of digging into the space behind the opponent’s defense. In West Ham, if Son Heung-min catches the ball, two defenders cover it and give no space.
Son Heung-min had a chance that the ball hit his body in the extra time in the second half would lead to a goal by chance, but he did not follow his luck as he hit the right goal post.
‘Evening Standard’ gave Son Heung-min 5 points after the game. Defender Davinson Sanchez (3 ratings) had only one score lower than Son Heung-min.
British Sky Sports gave a rating of 5 points, saying, “Even though Son Heung-min’s late efforts, the (ball) missed the post.” The British public broadcaster BBC also gave Son Heung-min a low rating of 4.35 after the game. It was evaluated that there was no such impressive performance except for the scene that hit the goal post just before the end of the game.
Tottenham, who has been playing 7 games for the 21st of February, will play the second leg of the Europa League round of 32 against Wolfsberg at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the 25th.
Fortunately for Tottenham, it is the fact that he can afford to hold his breath by winning 4-1 in the first leg of the expedition. Even if he loses by two goals in the home, he has an advantageous position to advance to the round of 16, so he has a great chance of giving the main players a break, and Son Heung-min is expected to receive a rest after a long time.
Now, this is Son Heung-min, who seems to need charging. It is paying attention to whether Son Heung-min, who is getting tired from the tight schedule, can provide an opportunity for a reversal.