"Honestly, you should have put it in" "One top + full time" Son Heung-min, again Big Chan-Smith → "The lowest score was humiliated"...Tottenham draw 1-1 with Fulham '1 exit'

Dec 02, 2024

'Captain' Son Heung-min (32) missed another critical chance.

Tottenham drew 1-1 in the 13th round of the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2024-2025 season against Fulham at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, at 10:30 p.m. on the 1st (Korea time). Brennan Johnson scored the first goal in the 9th minute of the second half, raising expectations for victory, but he was beaten by Fulham's Cairney in the 22nd minute of the second half. In the end, Tottenham ended up in a 1-1 draw and failed to achieve a consecutive league win. It was the first draw at home in 28 games since April 2023. If he won, he could have entered the fourth place competition, but he failed to keep the lead of the first goal.

Son Heung-min replaced Dominic Solanke as the front-line striker for the first time in a long time. Son Heung-min was criticized for missing a decisive opportunity in the Europa League against AS Roma on the 30th of last month. Son started on the left wing and played for 77 minutes. He showed relatively good performance, scoring the first goal, but the problem was in the 36th and 40th minutes of the first half. He connected with a shot again when his teammates' shots came out, but none of them led to a score.

Then, all at once, the British media came forward. The British newspaper Hotspur HQ reported that Son Heung-min was struggling to score at the beginning of the season. He then had several good chances against AS Roma, but lost his composure at a critical moment. Son Heung-min's goal-scoring ability is still at a level, but this season is far from his prime as he recovers slowly after the injury.

Paul Robinson, a commentator for England 'BBC', who used to be a goalkeeper for Tottenham, said "This is a huge mistake by Son Heung-min. He sent the ball over the net from a distance of only six meters. I don't know how I can miss such a good chance. I can't believe a player like Son Heung-min missed this chance."

Football fancast'Son Heung-min scored a penalty against Rome, but he was painfully sluggish for most of the game.'Inaccurate shooting and pass selection mistakes were noticeable. Tottenham fans are expecting more from Son Heung-min as leader.

Questions related to Son Heung-min's poor scoring ability were also raised at the post-match press conference. Son has only scored four goals in 13 games this season. Coach Enze Postecoglou said, `I don't know if he lacks confidence. Son Heung-min had a chaotic year. He had a good chance to score. He's a player who can take those opportunities, and he's been consistently decisive for 10 years"But now he is suffering from injury. Now it's coming back to full physical condition. That's the most important thing for us."

Coach Postecoglou once again gave Son a chance. However, Son's performance was not very satisfactory. He played between the center and the side for 90 minutes, but only one shot, one opportunity creation, one Big Chan-Smith, 0 cross success (0/3), and 0 dribbling success. In particular, he took over Timo Werner's pass inside the penalty area in the 50th second of the first half and faced Fulham Bernd Leno Keeper one-on-one, but failed to score. Son Heung-min's shot was blocked by Leno Kiefer's good defense.

The 'Huscored dotcom' gave Tottenham 6.3 points, the lowest rating among the 11 starters. Another statistical media outlet, Footmob, also gave Son a 6.5 point rating, the lowest in the team.

Other evaluations were similar. 'Football London' gave a team-low rating of four points. Football London had two chances at the start of the game, but was blocked by Leno. Since then, it has given little boost to the game. It looked like it was floating on the edge of the game. It was a day when I should have brought the game by the scruff of the neck, but the captain was quiet, he criticized.

Andy Reid from Tottenham also missed Son Heung-min's performance. He "It was a really big opportunity. To be honest, Son Heung-min should have scored. He didn't get as many corners as he wanted"It was a really, really good opportunity. Maybe Son Heung-min should have finished it off."

Tottenham fan community 'Spurs Web' also remained at 4 points. Spursweb reported 'Son Heung-min had a few chances in the beginning, but most of them failed. It wasn't the level of performance needed today.

On the same day, Postecoglou replaced the injured Solanke with a 4-3-3 formation with Son Heung-min as the one-top. Werner and Johnson were placed on the left and right sides of Son Heung-min. James Maddison, Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr came out in the midfield supporting the offense. Destiny Udoghi and Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin and Pedro Porpo were deployed for the four backs. Veteran goalkeeper Fraser Foster started instead of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who suffered an ankle fracture.

Fulham pulled out a 4-2-3-1 formation. Raul Jimenez was on the one-top, while Rhys Nelson-Emil Smith Rowe-Alex Iwobi was on the second line. Sasha Lukic-Sander Berge formed the midfield. The four backs were made by Antony Robinson - Calvin Bash - Issa Deoff - Kenny Tete. Leno wore goalkeeper gloves.

Tottenham, which missed a disappointing chance at the start of the first half, continued its offensive. However, he failed to penetrate Fulham's defensive wall, which lowered the line. In the 38th minute of the first half, Drigushin's header was blocked by goalkeeper Leno. Fulham's counterattack was also sharp. In the 41st minute of the first half, Alex Iwobi hit a right-footed strong shot from the right side of the box, but it hit the crossbar. Tottenham also had a regret that Madison's surprise shot hit the left post in the extra time of the first half.

In the end, neither team scored a goal in the first half.

In the second half, Fulham came out on a strong pitch. In the 7th minute of the second half, when Nelson's cross hit the defense and flowed, Iwobi turned and attempted a Caesars kick. The poster keeper managed to stop it. Tottenham launched a counterattack. In the 9th minute of the second half, Son Heung-min developed the ball to the left in the center of the opponent's camp. Werner entered the box from the left and floated a lobbing pass to the other side. He aimed for the lack of defense to stop Johnson. Johnson shook the net with a right-footed inside volley.

Fulham, who scored the first goal, put in Harry Wilson and Tom Cairney in the 17th minute of the second half. The replacement operation worked properly. In the 22nd minute of the second half, Cairney, who received a pass from Iwobi from far away from the penalty area, fired a surprise strong shot to penetrate the corner of the goal.

Tottenham, who allowed a tie, replaced Werner with Dejan Kulusevski. However, the attack continued to slow down one beat.

Tottenham had a good chance. Kearney defends Kulusevski in the 38th minute of the second half I stepped on my calves with the soles of my feet. After VAR, the warning was changed to exit. Fulham had to hang on with 10 men. The remaining time is about 10 minutes including additional time. There was plenty of time for Tottenham to score.

Tottenham added Archie Gray and Lucas Beribal. He was aggressively aiming for the goal. Fulham also sent out Ryan Sessegnon and Timothy Castagne to strengthen their defense. However, Tottenham's strategy to strengthen its offense was unsuccessful. Rather, Fulham's sharp counterattack almost allowed the goal. Tottenham's attack centered on Son Heung-min did not threaten Fulham, where 10 players played at all. In the end, they only gained one point with a score of one to one.

vanbasten@sportschosun.com