Heung-Min Son was an unsung hero of Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat at Leicester City, with Harry Kane’s goal the only real advantage the Englishman held over his South Korean teammate.
Son recorded his fourth consecutive start in the Premier League (TransferMarkt) on Saturday, as Spurs were beaten 2-1 by the Foxes thanks to an 85th-minute strike from range by James Maddison, which helped to overturn Kane’s first-half opener when the Three Lions captain prodded the ball home while stumbling toward Kasper Schmeichel.
But when excluding the 26-year-old’s fourth league goal of the campaign, and fifth across all competitions, it can be debated that it was not Kane who had the better day at the King Power Stadium out of himself and Son, despite the former Bayer Leverkusen forward being criticised for his efforts in the final third.
According to Football.London, Son’s performance was only worthy of a six out of ten match rating, as he tested Schmeichel on occasion, assisted Kane’s opener and was ‘unfortunate to be the subject of the strangest VAR ruling yet’. But he also pulled his best chances of the game wide of the goal frame and hesitated for too long before shooting, which invited a denying tackle.
As for Kane, he was awarded a seven out of ten match rating, as he scored a ‘terrific’ goal, unleashed a flurry of chances, and set up Serge Aurier for what would have been his side’s second of the day only for that VAR intervention.
Son’s hapless accuracy in front of goal was undoubtedly a poor point of the 27-year-old’s performance on Saturday, but it should not be the only take from the game, as the 83-cap South Korea international performed admirably in other respects.
For one, he played the joint-most key passes at the King Power Stadium with Erik Lamela (3), while Son’s 94% pass accuracy rating was the best of any player who started for either side, per WhoScored data.
Son also completed more dribbles than any Spurs man on Saturday with two from five attempts – only Maddison (4) completed more – and, unlike Kane, the Chuncheon-born forward won an aerial duel.
Tottenham fans, barring his misplaced shots, were you impressed by Son against Leicester? Let us know in the comments below…
