Tottenham Hotspur still have a realistic chance to secure the first piece of domestic silverware under Jose Mourinho, as the north London side drew 1-1 with Premier League rivals Southampton to ensure a replay at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Though sadly, for both sets of players, it will come during their supposed winter break. In the absence of leading goal threat, Harry Kane, Spurs had Son Heung-min to thank for consistently terrorising the opposition on the South Coast.
The South Korean’s strike opened the scoring as he drifted into an abundance of space down the left channel and fired a low shot across goal into the bottom corner. Son was also unfortunate to be in the path of a Giovani Lo Celso goal whilst in an offside position, preventing the Argentinian from adding to Spurs lead. However, Son’s contribution was significant as no other Tottenham player attempted more shots than the 27-year-old’s (three), though only his goal-scoring effort hit the target.
Having said this, Mourinho may have been dissatisfied with the number of occasions his left forward conceded possession cheaply as Son was dispossessed on four occasions, along with being caught offside three times. Furthermore, the South Korean made a single unsuccessful touch in what was an occasionally sloppy performance, despite breaking the deadlock.
Son also made the lowest number of passes, 18, of any Tottenham starter as he was largely isolated throughout the encounter. Of those passes only 61.1 percent reached their intended target – only Lucas Moura registered a lower pass success rate for Tottenham.
However, there was to be no questioning of Son’s defensive commitment as the 27-year-old made two interceptions and three clearances to highlight his incredible work ethic, despite starting in such an advanced position.
Whilst it was not the South Korean’s best outing in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt against Southampton, as he mostly struggled to influence the game from wide areas, his main contribution to the game was decisive in ensuring Spurs could still progress to the fifth round. Thanks to Son, Spurs and Mourinho are still in the hunt for a trophy which has previously proved elusive.
