Son Heung-min silences critics with sensational 13-minute hat-trick

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Son Heung-min silences critics with sensational 13-minute hat-trick

Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring Spurs' fourth goal in a Premier League match against Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday.  [EPA/YONHAP]

Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring Spurs' fourth goal in a Premier League match against Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday. [EPA/YONHAP]

 
Son Heung-min came off the bench to score his first, second and third goals of the 2022-23 Premier League season on Saturday as Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to beat Leicester City 6-2 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
 
After failing to score in the first six games of the season, Son, the 2021-22 Golden Boot winner, was relegated to the bench on Saturday, with Spurs manager instead choosing to start Harry Kane, Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski, all of whom had proven more reliable in previous games.
 
But being dropped seemed to give Son just the push he needed, and he exploded on to the field when Conte called him up in the 69th minute with the score at 3-2. Less than half an hour later it was 6-2 and Son had become the first player in Tottenham history to score a hat-trick off the bench.
 
Spurs fell behind in the sixth minute when Youri Tielemans after a foul from Davinson Sánchez. The spot kick had to be taken twice, with Hugo Lloris saving the first attempt only for VAR to rule that he had been off the line when the kick was taken.
 
Leicester's lead did not last for long, with Kane heading in a goal just two minutes later.  A well-executed set piece gave Kane the chance, with Kulusevski stepping up to take the corner in Son's absense.
 
Eric Dier put Spurs ahead in the 21st minute with another set piece, picking up a loose ball following the corner and knocking it into the net.
 
Twenty-minutes later Leicester was able to tie things up again with a perfectly executed volley from James Maddison that bear Lloris and took the score to 2-2 going into the break.
 
Tottenham, were quick off the mark in the second half, with Rodrigo Bentancur beating the defense and calmly slotting the ball past Leicester goalkeeper Danny Ward for his first goal in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt.
 
After a quiet 10 minutes, Conte took the opportunity to dig into his bench, first taking off Ivan Perišić for Emerson Royal, then Richarlison for Son, Sanchez for Cristian Romero and Yves Bissouma for Kulusevski.
 
And then Son put on a show.
 
Son Heung-min scores Tottenham Hotspur's fourth goal against Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday.  [EPA/YONHAP]

Son Heung-min scores Tottenham Hotspur's fourth goal against Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday. [EPA/YONHAP]

 
The Korean striker struck first in the 73rd minute, when he picked up a pass from Bentancur just past the halfway. Holding two defenders off, Son raced down the pitch to the edge of the D where he sent a long curling effort past both defenders and Ward and into the top-right corner.
 
Eleven minutes later Son was back again with a surprisingly similar effort, picking up a pass from Kane on the edge of the box, Son took a touch to collect himself and then sent a curling left-footed effort past six defenders and into the back of the net.
 
Son Heung-min scores Tottenham Hotspur's fifth goal against Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday.  [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Son Heung-min scores Tottenham Hotspur's fifth goal against Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

 
Two minutes later Son made it three, after a great breakthrough run from Pierre-Emile Højbjerg got the ball to Son just inside the box. With two defenders and the keeper to beat, Son sent a low shot under Ward, with the Leicester goalkeeper able to get something on it, but not enough to prevent it bouncing into the net.
 
The flag initially went up for offside, but a VAR review quickly overturned that decision and the goal counted.
 
Son Heung-min scores Tottenham Hotspur's sixth goal against Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday.  [EPA/YONHAP]

Son Heung-min scores Tottenham Hotspur's sixth goal against Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday. [EPA/YONHAP]

 
Nine minutes after that goal the whistle blew for full time with Spurs taking a huge 6-2 win to tie with Manchester City on points at the top of the Premier League table and Son resoundingly back on form.
 
"It was an amazing feeling," Son said after the game. "I couldn't believe it. All the frustration and what I had, disappointment and negative feeling just went. I couldn't move so I stood still. It made me really happy.
 
"Football is crazy sometimes. Sometimes the ball didn't want to go inside and [today it did] three times. It changes everything. I learned so much in this tough period. I need to work hard every time to get the chance.
 
"Three lucky goals and I'm really proud."
 
Pundits were also quick to heap praise on Son, with former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp summing up the reaction: "They say form is temporary and class is permanent. He is a very, very special player and that is exactly the right way to react. It is the perfect example of what to do as a player."
 
Conte also praised Son after the game, saying he was "very happy" for him and joking that he might have to repeat the experiment of sending Son on as a substitute.
 
Son's hat-trick came just in time to take some of the pressure off the Korean forward as he flies back to Korea this week for the first international break of the 2022-23 season. 

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