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| ReutersYonhap News |
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Tottenham captain Son Heung-min lost face in front of Liverpool.
Son Heung-min started and played on the ground for 82 minutes until he was replaced in the 17th round of the English Premier League (EPL) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on the 23rd (Korea time). Tottenham suffered a crushing 3-6 defeat, dedicating as many as six goals in the silence of Son Heung-min, who failed to score in three consecutive games.
Son Heung-min played as a left striker in the 4-2-3-1 formation, but failed to pose any threat to the opponent's side. In the early part of the first half, he was hardly bombarded with broadcast cameras except for the scene where he fell due to the opponent's foul play in the counterattack situation. Occasionally, only an irritable expression was seen. As if erased by Trent Alexander-Arnold, who reigns as the best right-back in the EPL, he failed to display advantages such as explosive breakthrough, sharp shooting, and smooth linked play.
The record was shabby. He scored one shot until he was replaced by Timo Werner in the 37th minute of the second half when he was dragged 2-5, three goals apart. Even that was an invalid shot. The expected score is 0.03 goals. There were 36 cheek touches, but there were few touches in the opponent's penalty box. The dribble was successful once in two attempts, and the ground race success rate was only about 33.3% (one successful). The number of times he lost possession of the ball was 10 times, and offside fouls were 3 times.
The team's evaluation of Son Heung-min in the historic defeat could not be good. The statistics firm `Sofas Score' gave Son a 6.3 rating. It is the lowest among Tottenham's first and second line resources, which started side by side. Dominic Solanke scored 7.6 points, James Madison 7.2 points, and Dejan Kulusevski 7.0 points, respectively. The three scored one goal each.
Son's rating was lower than that of Frazier Foster (6.8 points), the goalkeeper who donated six goals. Son Heung-min, whose league average score this season is 7.54 points based on the `Sofa Score,' posted his lowest personal rating this season. The lowest score at the end point was 6.6 points recorded against Bournemouth on the 6th. Tottenham lost 0-1 at the time.
Again on this day, Engie Postecoglou's offensive soccer became 'Dok'. In the 23rd minute, he dedicated the first goal to Luis Diaz's header following Alexander-Arnold's picturesque cross. Tottenham, who gave Alexis McAllister an additional goal in the 36th minute, followed with Madison's chasing goal five minutes later, but gave up one more goal to Dominic Sobosler in the first minute of added time to end the first half 1-3.
Tottenham, who made a series of first-half mistakes, completely collapsed in the second half. He dedicated consecutive goals to Mohamed Salah, who showed off his peak skills in the 9th and 16th minutes of the second half when he aggressively raised the line and pulled the reins of the chase. Salah, who scored two goals and two assists on the day, scored a total of 15 goals and 11 assists, becoming the first player to score 10-10 (goal-assisted) before Christmas after the opening of the season.
Tottenham made the score 3-5 with goals from Kulusevski in the 27th minute of the second half and Solanke in the 38th minute of the second half, but lost three goals to Diaz in the 40th minute of the second half. Son Heung-min, who looked at the stadium with a despondent look on the bench after the replacement, said "I think it's a little hard to accept. I was in a difficult situation by allowing more goals at home"I couldn't hide my disappointment. Next to Tottenham's home bench, Yang Min-hyuk, who is about to join the team on January 1, was also there. Tottenham, which has lost three games (1 win) in its last four league games, has fallen to 11th place with 23 points, 'More League'. It is eight points behind Nottingham Forest (31 points), which is ranked fourth in the European Champions League.
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
