Son gets goal and assist as Spurs beat Newcastle 5-1

Football

Published: 04 Apr. 2022, 13:42 Updated: 04 Apr. 2022, 17:46

Son gets goal and assist as Spurs beat Newcastle 5-1

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min celebrates after scoring his team's third goal in a Premier League game against Newcastle at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Son Heung-min picked up a goal and an assist as Tottenham Hotspur romped to a big 5-1 win over Newcastle that lifted the London squad into fourth place in the Premier League as the season starts to wind down.

Spurs were on spectacular form at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, falling behind in the middle of the first half but then rallying emphatically to take the lead at the start of the second half and extend it with three goals in quick succession.

All five of Tottenham's goals came from different players, underlining the work manager Antonio Conte has been doing to revamp the entire club, not just rely on the Harry Kane-Son show ever week.

The first 30 minutes of Sunday's game offered little sign of the onslaught that was to follow. Spurs and Newcastle traded shots until the 39th minute, when Fabian Schär scored a free kick from just outside the box to put the visiting side ahead.

Tottenham responded almost instantly, when Tottenham were able to double down on a poorly executed set piece to tie the score. While the initial corner was ineffective, Eric Dier was able to get the ball back out to Son who crossed it into the box where Ben Davies headed it home.

Spurs didn't waste any time after the break, with Matt Doherty putting the London side up 2-1 in the 48th minute.

Son's chance came just a few minutes later. The Korean international picked up a cross from Dejan Kulusevski in front of goal, took a single touch to gain control and then hammered the ball past Martin Dúbravka to take the score to 3-1.

Tottenham's Son Heung-min scores his team's third goal in a Premier League game against Newcastle at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday. [EPA/YONHAP]

Emerson Royal added goal No. 4 for Spurs less than 10 minutes later, with Steven Bergwijn piling on in the 83rd minute to finish the game at 5-1.

With the win, Spurs move up to fourth place in the Premier League and a coveted Champions League spot, although as of press time they could still be knocked back down if Arsenal beat Crystal Palace on Monday evening.

Son has now scored 14 goals this season, putting him tied for second with Diogo Jota of Liverpool on the Premier League top goal scorer ranking. Mohamed Salah of Liverpool tops the list with 20 goals.

This is Son's third Premier League season with 14 or more goals, after scoring 14 in his breakout 2016-17 season and 17 last year. With seven games still left to play this season, the Korean striker could well break that personal best this year.

Sunday's result also puts to rest any doubt that Son might be struggling this season. Shortly before the international break there had been concerns that Son was overworked and tiring this year after a quiet couple of weeks, but there is little evidence of that on the pitch. Son has scored three goals in his last two Premier League games, as well as captaining Korea in two international matches in the last two weeks.

Spurs will be back in action on Saturday as they take on Saturday against Aston Villa at Villa Park in Birmingham, England.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]