Koreans in Europe: Son Heung-min assist salvages Spurs win in Asian Cup return

Football

Published: 12 Feb. 2024, 10:17

Koreans in Europe: Son Heung-min assist salvages Spurs win in Asian Cup return

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min prepares to cross the ball during the Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Son Heung-min notched a last-minute assist in Saturday's clash against Brighton & Hove Albion, sealing a 2-1 comeback victory for Tottenham Hotspur in his Premier League return.

Koreans in Europe: Son Heung-min scores in final Spurs appearance before Asian Cup

Spurs got off to a shaky start at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, conceding a penalty to Pascal Gross in the 17th minute.

They were unable to tie things up until the 61th minute when Pape Matar Sarr found the back of the net.

It seemed like things would end in a 1-1 draw.

But it was Son in the 90+6 minute who helped salvage a win with an assist, making a tidy cross inside the penalty box, which Brennan Johnson converted to the winner.

Son made an impact despite playing only 28 minutes of the game, stepping onto the pitch in the 62nd minute. It was his first game for Spurs since returning to the team from the Asian Cup where Korea competed from Jan. 15 through Feb. 7 and crashed out of the tournament with a semifinal loss to Jordan.

Saturday’s assist was Son’s sixth of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign. The Tottenham captain has been a prolific scorer this season, having scored 12 goals in 21 league fixtures as the league’s fourth top scorer as of Monday.

After Saturday’s victory, Tottenham reclaimed fourth place on the league table from Aston Villa, who lost 2-1 to Manchester United on Sunday.

With 47 points, the London side is now seven points behind league leaders Liverpool as of Monday.

This season’s race at the top of the league table has been extremely competitive, with only eight points separating Liverpool — 54 points — and fifth-place Aston Villa.

Tottenham will be back in league action for Saturday’s Korean derby against Hwang Hee-chan’s Wolverhampton Wanderers at home.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]