FA Cup brace earns Son Heung-min 'Team of the Round' recognition

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FA Cup brace earns Son Heung-min 'Team of the Round' recognition

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min celebrates after scoring his second goal against Preston at Deepdale in Preston, England on Saturday.  [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min celebrates after scoring his second goal against Preston at Deepdale in Preston, England on Saturday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

 
Son Heung-min may be in the midst of an uncharacteristically quiet season, but his brace in the FA Cup over the weekend has still turned heads and earned him a bit of recognition for the first time in months.
 
Son was named to Whoscored.com’s “FA Cup Team of the Round” on Wednesday, a squad of the best XI players from the fourth round of the FA Cup.
 
The Korean midfielder is no stranger to WhoScored.com squads, often making it into their regular Premier League Team of the Month in previous seasons, although his struggle this year has left him largely out of contention.
 
Son’s inclusion this week comes after he scored a brace for Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday in a Premier League game against Preston.
 
Son kicked things off with a 25-yard screamer in the 50th minute, hammering the shot from outside the box to beat Preston goalkeeper Freddie Woodman at Deepdale in Preston, England. Son quickly struck again, producing almost the exact same shot 19 minutes later.
 
Son was joined in the best XI by Patrick Bamford and Jack Harrison of Leeds United, Gavan Holohan of Grimsby Town, Alex Scott of Bristol City, Casemiro of Manchester United, Romain Perraud of Southampton, Nathan Aké of Manchester City, Lewis Dunk of Brighton and Hove Albion, Timothy Castagne of Leicester City and Anthony Patterson of Sunderland.
 
Son’s brace comes in the middle of a long and difficult season for the veteran midfielder, with just four league goals to his name in 19 appearances so far this season. He has generally fared even worse in terms of assists, with just three in the league so far.
 
Away from the Premier League, Son scored a brace in a Champions League game against Eintracht Frankfurt on Oct. 12, but was otherwise kept quiet in the five other games, and he also failed to score in the third round FA Cup game against Portsmouth earlier this month.
 
There is some evidence that things are starting to pick up for Son after the World Cup break and with the removal of the mask he had to wear for more than a month after receiving an orbital fracture in a game against Marseille on Nov. 1.

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