Son Heung-min grabs assist as Spurs snap seven-game winless streak in league

Home > Sports > Football

print dictionary print

Son Heung-min grabs assist as Spurs snap seven-game winless streak in league

Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min, right, celebrates during the Premier League match against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium in London on Feb. 2. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min, right, celebrates during the Premier League match against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium in London on Feb. 2. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

 
Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min picked up his eighth assist of the 2024-25 season to help his side to a 2-0 win over Brentford on Sunday, ending Spurs’ seven-game winless streak in the Premier League. 
 

Related Article

 
The fixture at the Gtech Community Stadium in London did not turn out to be a Korean derby, as Brentford defender Kim Ji-soo was not in the squad, although he was still at the stadium and hugged Son after the match. 
 
 
Son was involved in both of the game's goals, taking a corner with an accurate cross that hit Vitaly Janelt’s back and went into the net in the 29th minute. The goal counted as the Brentford midfielder’s own goal.
 
The Spurs captain was there again when Spurs needed another goal, timing a through-ball well for Pape Matar Sarr to finish the job in the 87th minute, sealing the visitors’ victory. The assist brings Son’s goal contribution this season to 10 goals and eight assists across 31 appearances.
 
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pape Matar Sarr celebrates scoring during the Premier League match against Brentford at Gtech Community Stadium in London on Feb. 2. [AFP/YONHAP]

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pape Matar Sarr celebrates scoring during the Premier League match against Brentford at Gtech Community Stadium in London on Feb. 2. [AFP/YONHAP]

 
For Spurs, Sunday’s win cut their seven-game winless streak and also ended their four-match losing streak in the league. Tottenham jumped two spots to land in 14th place on the 20-team league table with an important three points. 
 
“Obviously, it’s a massive win,” Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou said after the match. “Off the back of another good win before [in the Europa League]. To break that run, it was difficult, we were in a difficult time.
 
“We’ve still got loads of games to prove that we can carry this winning form on, so it’s important.”  
 
Tottenham are still closer to the relegation zone than to the top four. Only 10 points separate Spurs and 18th-placed Leicester City, while a 14-point gap divides Spurs and fourth-placed Manchester City.
 
But Spurs have now secured two wins in a row, against IF Elfsborg in the Europa League and Brentford, since their last loss against Leicester in the Premier League on Jan. 26.  
 
Their recent form is a bright sign ahead of a hectic schedule this month during which they face Liverpool in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal on Thursday and play Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday.
 
Spurs have to get through the schedule with a relatively thin squad depleted due to multiple injuries, including center-back Cristian Romero, midfielder James Maddison, winger Timo Werner and forward Dominic Solanke.
 
Son has been left with more offensive duties in the absence of Maddison and Solanke, two of the top scorers for the club in the league this season. Maddison is the team’s top scorer with eight league goals in 22 appearances, with Solanke coming in second at seven league goals in 18 matches. Even Brennan Johnson, who has picked up seven league goals in 21 appearances, has been sidelined since Jan. 16.
 
Spurs need to focus on their next match against Liverpool in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semifinals, where they have the best chance of securing silverware and ending their long trophy drought. They head into the second leg with a 1-0 advantage from the first game.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)