Tottenham’s Son Heung-min, 31, stepped into a position he’s familiar with for the first time in a long time and delivered a stunning performance, breaking his team’s winless streak and cementing his place in English Premier League (EPL) history. It was a ‘Son National’ day.
On Nov. 11, Son scored a goal and two assists to lead Tottenham Hotspur to a 4-1 victory over Newcastle United in the 16th round of the 2023-2024 EPL at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. After an opening 10-match unbeaten run (8 W, 2 D), Tottenham fell into a five-match winless streak (1 D, 4 L), but Son’s performance helped them add a valuable victory for the first time in six games, keeping them in fifth place with 30 points. They are three points behind fourth-place Manchester City.
The goal was Son’s 10th of the season, marking his eighth consecutive season of double-digit league scoring. He is only the seventh player in EPL history to score in double figures in eight consecutive seasons since the league’s inception in 1992, joining Wayne Rooney (11), Frank Lampard (10), Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane (9+), Sadio Mane and Thierry Henry (8+). He is also third on the list behind Elling Holland (Man City – 14 goals) and Muhammad Salah (Liverpool – 11 goals).
Son, who has been playing up front this season, started on the left flank, his longtime position, in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Heung-min’s place in the front line was taken by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Newcastle’s right full-back and former teammate Kieran Trippier opened the scoring in the 26th minute with an assist for Destiny Udogie. Working the ball down the left side of the penalty area, Son sent a quick, low cross with his left foot near the goal line that Udogi headed home.
Son added another assist 12 minutes later. This time, he worked the ball slowly down the left side of the penalty area and found himself one-on-one with Trippier, where he made a brilliant dribbling run before slotting a pass in front of the goal for Hicharlison, who finished with his left foot.
He added another goal in the 15th minute of the second half to make it 3-0, before Son Heung-min created a chance of his own in the 38th minute. On a counterattack, Son was tripped in the penalty area by Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka and the referee awarded a penalty kick. Heung-min stepped up to take the spot kick.
Son was replaced by Jamie Donley in the 45th minute to finish the game. Newcastle escaped defeat with a goal from Joelintong just before the end of the game after Son was substituted.
After the game, Son was named Man of the Match in a fan vote on the league’s official website with an overwhelming 72.2% of the vote. Football stats site Fourscore.com gave him a 9.44 rating, while Footmob gave him a 9.5. Football London gave Son a 9, saying he “motivated the team with a complete performance from a true captain”. Tottenham manager Anzhi Postecoglou said: “Heung-min set the tone for us early on. He made good moves every time he got the ball. That’s leadership. His presence was a big difference from the last few games (where we didn’t win),” he said.
Son, who had been bitter after the loss to West Ham, saying the strikers needed to step up, was all smiles again. “I don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the last two weeks anymore,” he said, “Today was a fantastic performance. I want to keep playing like this,” he said.