Will Son Heung-min (32, Tottenham Hotspur) stop ‘wasting talent’ as he returns to the left flank for the first time in a long time?
Tottenham will face Chelsea in the 26th round of the 2023-2024 Premier League (PL) season at Stamford Bridge in London, England, at 3:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
It’s a must-win game. Tottenham currently sits in fifth place with 60 points. They are seven points behind fourth-place Aston Villa (67 points), who have played two more games. If they slip further, their chances of finishing fourth are slim.
Tottenham must finish fourth to qualify for the UEFA Champions League (UCL) next season. This is because the PL lost the race for the top two UEFA places to the Bundesliga. If the PL had finished second, fifth-place Tottenham would also have qualified for the UCL, but Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the UCL quarterfinals to secure the Bundesliga’s second-place finish.
Chelsea are also making a last-minute spurt to keep their European hopes alive. The Blues are in ninth place with 48 points, but have played fewer games than the other teams. A win would move them to within three points of sixth-place Manchester United (54 points), who have played two more games.
Son Heung-min will face off against his ‘old mentor’ Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea. The pair were priests at Tottenham from 2015 to 2019, but became enemies when Pochettino took over at their ‘London rivals’ last summer.
The first meeting this season was a 4-1 victory for Chelsea, leaving Pochettino smiling. Tottenham took the lead six minutes into the game through Dejan Kulusevski, but then lost two men to the sin bin. Despite the result, Son and Pochettino shared a hug and said goodbye for the first time in a long time.
Heung-min will be looking for his 17th league goal. He has 16 goals and nine assists in the league so far, the most on the team and the most assists on the team. He needs just one more assist to reach 10 goals and 10 assists in the league for the third time in his career.
Son Heung-min is expected to play on the left flank for the first time in a while. That’s because the center forward is back from injury. When asked if he could start, manager Enzi Postecoglou said: “Yes, he’s back in training. I’m sure he will play a significant role in the big games we have left.”
With him up front, Son Heung-min could naturally return to the left wing. Tottenham were already in need of a flanker with Timo Werner out for the season with a hamstring injury.
Local media outlets such as 90min, Football London, and the Evening Standard all predicted a lineup with Son on the left flank, with Heung-min starting up front. “Tottenham need to focus on attacking, and they looked more balanced when they had him on,” explained Football London, “and his return to the starting lineup will give 토토사이트 Son the opportunity to return to his preferred left flank.
Son Heung-min’s return to the side could be a fresh start. Tottenham lost their last two games, at Newcastle and Arsenal, on consecutive days. They were thrashed 0-4 away at Newcastle and knocked out 2-3 at home to Arsenal. In both games, Son Heung-min started up front, but he was blocked by a low defensive block and was unable to make an impact.
After the Newcastle game, there were calls for Son to be used in his natural position on the flank. “Postecoglou should have brought him back down the center line to give him more passing options,” says Football London. But that’s not his strength, and while he has improved in recent years at playing with his back to the opposition defense, he is not a strong target man. He’s more comfortable and powerful when he’s facing the goal.”
“The lethal No. 9 should end the Son experiment,” Team Talk said, “Opponents have found that he relies on clever moves to create space in the back. He has little impact against low defensive blocks. The role Son is struggling to fill has always been Harry Kane’s job. What he is being asked to do now is a complete waste of his talent.”
With the arrival of Heung-Min Son, the wasting of his talent will stop for now. However, Tottenham will be playing away from home and will be at a disadvantage against Chelsea. According to a supercomputer calculation by soccer statistics outlet Opta, Spurs have a 32.6% chance of winning the match, which is lower than Chelsea’s 39.9% chance.