Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min scores 20th goal of the season

Football

Published: 08 May. 2022, 16:43 Updated: 09 May. 2022, 18:19

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min scores 20th goal of the season

Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min celebrates with Harry Kane after scoring the opening goal of the Premier League match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield in Liverpool, northwest England, on Saturday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min runs with the ball during the Premier League football match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England, on Saturday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Son Heung-min scored his 20th goal this season against Liverpool on Saturday, holding the top club to a 1-1 draw at Anfield, Liverpool.

It was the return of the Tottenham's top scorer this season Son for the Premier League fixture once again, with the Korean striker scoring Spurs' sole goal on Saturday.

Despite Liverpool clearly having an upper hand in ball possession, Liverpool and Tottenham were forced to keep quiet in the first half.

In the opening of the second half, Liverpool kept that ball possession but still failed to find a chance. Then just 11 minutes in, Son broke the silence. Hugo Lloris passed the ball to Emerson Royal who controlled the ball and sent it over to Harry Kane who moved infield passing the ball left to Ryan Sessegnon who set the ball up for Son to tap home.

Liverpool was able to score an equalizer 18 minutes later, though the way the ball made its way into the goal didn’t reflect the club’s dominance in ball possession. Luis Diaz of Liverpool tried a shot with his right foot that then flicked off the toe of Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur, wrong-footed Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and nestled in the bottom corner.

Saturday’s match was a disappointing one for Liverpool for failing to convert despite sitting at the top of the Premier League table. Liverpool had 65 percent of the ball. They also had 22 shots, three of which were on target while Tottenham only had eight shots, three of which were on target. Despite the numbers, the match ended 1-1.

With Saturday's goal, Son reached the 20-goal mark in the Premier League for the first time in his career, surpassing his previous best 17 from last season. Son is only the second Spurs player in the history of the Premier League to reach 20 goals in a season without the benefit of a penalty, alongside former Spurs player Gareth Bale.

"It was one of the toughest games I've ever played. A point is always good at Anfield," Son said in a post-match interview. "I think the team performance was really good. Liverpool are one of the best teams in the world at the moment, and we had to defend well."

The 1-1 draw means Tottenham have closed the gap on fourth-placed Arsenal to just one point.

With only the top four teams qualifying for the Champions League each season, finishing within the top four is crucial for the Premier League’s top clubs. Tottenham are currently one point behind Arsenal in fifth place, but it’s all up in the air with three games left.

Spurs face a serious challenge next week as they take on Arsenal in a crucial North London derby.

"I always try to help my team. If we win the games, I don't have to score," Son said. "This is the only thing on my mind. I want to play in the Champions League next season.

"It's a big game, but we're playing at home. We'll give it everything we have, and we'll see what happens."

Next up for the Spurs is the north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]