Son Heung-min scores four-minute goal as Tottenham beat West Ham 2-0

Football

Published: 20 Feb. 2023, 08:36 Updated: 20 Feb. 2023, 17:42

Son Heung-min scores four-minute goal as Tottenham beat West Ham 2-0

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min celebrates with Harry Kane after scoring against West Ham during a Premier League game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

If Son Heung-min wanted to send a message after being benched for the first time since September on Sunday, it took him just four minutes to do so.

Son came on in the 68th minute for Richarlison and delivered the second goal of a 2-0 win against West Ham in the 72nd, partnering up with Harry Kane to deliver the killing bow at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

Although it was only Son’s second league goal this year and fifth this season, the assist from Kane a clinical finish from the Korean midfielder rolled back the clock to a time when Kane and Son, statistically the most prolific partnership in Premier League history, could hardly touch the ball without one of them scoring.

This time it was the England captain’s turn for an assist, slotting a perfect through ball to Son on the edge of the box with the ease of a chess player that’s already seen the next few moves and knows exactly what’s going to happen. Son didn’t disappoint, taking a touch to reposition himself before calmly slotting the ball past Lukasz Fabianski and into the back of the West Ham net.

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min scores against West Ham during a Premier League game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Son’s effort followed an earlier goal from Emerson Royal in the 56th minute, giving Spurs a comfortable 2-0 win and elevating them back into the top four — although fifth place Newcastle trail by one point with a game in hand.

Son’s appearance on the bench came after a series of lackluster performances from the Korean captain in what has been a very quiet season.

Across all competitions, Son has eight goals and three assists in 30 appearances, extremely low numbers for the reigning Premier League Golden Boot winner. His orbital fracture injury can be blamed for some of those issues, but Son was already struggling before the injury in November.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Sunday’s game, Tottenham Assistant Manager Cristian Stellini, who is filling in while Antonio Conte recovers from surgery, said Son was not “100 percent.” Speaking after the game, Stellini’s comments did not offer much clarity, but possibly implied tiredness was the concern.

“We know that Sonny's response would be perfect because Sonny is a perfect guy,” Stellini said. “But after the World Cup, sometimes it happen that the player are not fit 100 percent. In that moment you have to take a decision and it is difficult with a player like Sonny to drop them, but you have to do it because we have a lot of matches.”

“The risk is you lose a player for a long time and we don't want to do it. We want to use Sonny in the right way. Now we had Richarlison back 100 percent fit and we pick the team to play this type of game. The plan was clear. We had to fight in the first half and when they stretch the team and we have more space, we can use players like Sonny and players to attack the space.

“The confidence is 100 percent, it is physically that he needs to recover. When he plays five games in a row, sometimes you can feel tired and you can feel something not perfect.”

Whether he needed the rest or he felt he had something to prove, Son did not waste any time making an impact when he did eventually come on.

"Every player doesn't want to sit on the bench, this is clear, but when I am sitting there I'm always thinking where I can help the team and that's what I did when I came on," Son said after the game.

"With my performance, I know I can do much, much better and I want to improve. I still want to do better things that I haven't done. I'm always positive after I play bad so I don't want to celebrate too much after the victory."

Both Son and Tottenham get a full week’s rest before they’re back in action next Sunday, facing London rivals Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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