Son Heung-min scores 10th goal of season as Tottenham lose 4-3 rollercoaster at Liverpool

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Son Heung-min scores 10th goal of season as Tottenham lose 4-3 rollercoaster at Liverpool

Published: 01 May. 2023, 11:30 Updated: 01 May. 2023, 15:28

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min celebrates after scoring during a Premier League match against Liverpool at Anfield in Liverpool on Sunday. [EPA/YONHAP]

Son Heung-min scored his 10th goal of the 2022-23 Premier League season in a rollercoaster of a match against Liverpool on Sunday that saw Tottenham pivot from reliving the Newcastle nightmare to a three-goal comeback and then disappointment in the final few seconds of the game.

It was like an episode of “Ted Lasso,” but somehow even less believable.

For the second week in a row, Spurs fell behind with whiplash-inducing speed in the opening minutes of the game, conceding goals to Curtis Jones and Luis Diaz before the five-minute mark.

Mo Salah compounded that lead at Anfield in Liverpool with a third goal from a penalty in the 15th minute, putting Spurs down 3-0 with just a third of the game played, again.

But unlike the devastation at Newcastle, this week, Spurs fought back.

With Liverpool seemingly happy to sit back and coast with a three-goal cushion, it wasn’t long before Spurs pulled one back — Harry Kane volleying through the legs of Alisson after a well-placed chip from Ivan Perisic.

Still down 3-1 after the break, it wasn’t until the 77th minute that Son was able to chip further away at the lead. Sprinting up the pitch to pick up a ball from Cristian Romero on the far side of the Liverpool defense, Son curled his effort past Alisson and into the back of the net to make the score 3-2.

Son played a crucial role in the equalizer as well, sending a good free kick into the box to Richarlison. The Brazilian striker headed the ball into the ground, catching Alisson off guard on the bounce to tie the score at 3-3.

But the late equalizer was not the end of the action. Just 99 seconds later, Liverpool fought back at the other end of the pitch with a last-gasp effort from Diogo Jota — created, unfortunately, by a poor clearance from Lucas Moura — to put the home side ahead again.

That goal ended the game, allowing Liverpool to walk away with a 4-3 and Totteham to grapple with having snatched a draw from the jaws of certain defeat, only to fall straight back in again.

“It is hard to put into words to be perfectly honest,” Spurs interim manager Ryan Mason said after the game. “How the game went and obviously equalizing at the end, fully deserved. To gift them the winner at the end is impossible to take at this minute.”

Although a disappointing result for Tottenham, Sunday’s goal did mark Son’s seventh consecutive season with 10 or more goals, a huge personal achievement, even if his 10 goals this season are a far cry from last year’s Golden Boot-winning 23.

Tottenham will be back in action next Saturday as they take on London rivals Crystal Palace at home.

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