Tottenham’s Son Heung-min grabs brace, assist vs. Everton

December 24, 2018

Tottenham’s Son Heung-min grabs brace, assist vs. Everton

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) — Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean forward Son Heung-min grabbed a brace and delivered an assist against Everton to continue his run of hot form this month.

Son was named the Man of the Match in Tottenham’s 6-2 win over Everton in their English Premier League match at Goodison Park in Liverpool, Britain, on Sunday (local time) after his best performance yet in the 2018-19 season.

The game was Son’s first two-goal outing in an EPL match this season. He now has five goals in the league, in addition to his three goals at the Carabao Cup.

Son, who missed the early part of the season due to international duty for the 18th Asian Games, has been in a great form in recent weeks. In his last four EPL matches, Son has bagged four goals and two assists. The only match he didn’t get a goal or an assist was Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Burnley on Dec. 15, when he played 15 minutes as a second-half substitute.

With Harry Kane starting upfront, Son played as a winger in Tottenham’s 4-2-3-1 system.

Everton’s Theo Walcott broke the deadlock for the hosts in the 21st minute, but Son cancelled the lead just six minute later.

Son chased Kane’s long ball that was sent to Everton’s defense area and got lucky when Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford collided with teammate Kurt Zouma. The South Korean then took the ball and slotted it into the empty net with his right foot from a tight angle.

In the 35th, Son contributed to Tottenham’s second goal. Son’s right-footed strike in the box was saved by Pickford, but Dele Alli hit the net with his follow-up attempt to get a 2-1 lead for the Spurs.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side later added two goals, with Kane and Christian Eriksen putting their names on the scoring sheet. Everton then tried stay in the match with Gylfi Sigurdsson’s goal in the 51st.

But it was Son who quashed Everton’s efforts with a goal in the 61st. After receiving a pass from Erik Lamela, Son fired a right-footed strike in between the legs of Pickford to make the score 5-2.

Son then collected an assist in the 74th minute after his fine cross from the left flank found Kane, who tucked the ball home to seal his side’s victory on the road. This was Son’s fourth assist in the EPL this season.

Son was substituted in the 79th for teen prospect Oliver Skipp, receiving an ovation from fans as he left the pitch.

His recent performance is good news for the South Korean national football team currently preparing for the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Son, who has 23 goals in 74 caps, is scheduled to join the national team after playing Tottenham’s match against Manchester United on Jan. 13. He will not feature in South Korea’s first two group stage matches at the Asian Cup following an agreement between Tottenham and the Korea Football Association.