The silence of Son Heung-min (31, Tottenham Hotspur) is getting longer.
Son Heung-min played in the 2022-23 English Premier League (EPL) match against Manchester City (Man City) held at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England on the 20th (Korean time), but failed to show his presence. His shot on target was only one in the first half. He was the first Korean to reach the milestone of playing 250 EPL games, but he couldn’t laugh. Whoscored.com, a website specializing in soccer statistics, gave Son Heung-min a score of 6.03. Local media BBC said, “I played in my 250th Premier League match, but there was little to celebrate.” 메이저놀이터
Son Heung-min took off the face shield he wore in the aftermath of the previous game against Arsenal in November last year. His movement was expected to be more active than before, but the recent sluggishness continued. In the 36th minute of the first half, the only highlight was his header from Ben Davies’ cross from the left. This shot went straight to the opposing goalkeeper Ederson.
After that, Son Heung-min had no presence. He was still not good at breathing with Perishi Chi, who recently got into an argument. Football London, a local media, criticized Son Heung-min’s performance, saying, “I headed toward the goal in the first half, but the opposing goalkeeper made a save. Other than that, there was nothing to contribute to the team’s attack.”
Son Heung-min flew to Manchester City, scoring 7 goals and 3 assists in 15 matches. It is possible to gauge how far off his current form is.
Tottenham took a 2-0 lead until the first half thanks to goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Emerson Royal, but lost 2-4 after conceding 4 points in the second half. They failed to create additional points and stayed in 5th place (33 points) in the league.
Man City monster goal getter Elling Hollan scored the 22nd goal in the league by scoring in the 8th minute of the second half. Son Heung-min became the top scorer last season (2021-22) and approached the 23 goals he recorded by one goal. The first half isn’t over yet.