Son Heung-min, ‘First Goal in Two Months’
"FIRST GOAL IN TWO MONTHS" SON HEUNG-MIN: "I AM VERY HAPPY WITH MY FIRST GOAL SINCE THE ASIAN CUP"
13th goal of the season at the end of a "stormy run"... “One-on-one with the goalkeeper, I get nervous too.”
Son Heung-min (Tottenham), who scored in the English Premier League (EPL) for the first time in two months, did not hide his smile at his team"s first goal since the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup.
Son Heung-min said in an interview with the club"s media after the EPL round 27 home game against Crystal Palace held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England on the 3rd (Korean time), "I am very happy to come back from the Asian Cup and score a goal again.
“It’s even better to see the fans cheering,” he said.
On this day, Son Heung-min completed Tottenham’s victory by scoring his 13th goal of the season to make it 3-1 in the 43rd minute of the second half.
Son Heung-min’s goal at Tottenham was the highest of the year in Korean time.
It came about two months after the 20th round against Bournemouth held in the early morning of January 1st.
In the meantime, Son Heung-min had a difficult time as he participated in the Asian Cup but failed to win, and internal strife within the national team became known through media reports.
After the incident was resolved with an apology from his junior Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), he felt relieved in the game.
Good news about the goal.
Tottenham, chasing 4th place Aston Villa, conceded the first goal in the second half of the day and was on the verge of suffering a consecutive loss following the game (1-2 loss) against Wolverhampton on the 18th of last month, but scored 3 goals in a row from the 32nd minute of the second half and achieved a comeback victory.
Son Heung-min, who contributed to the victory, said, “Getting three points was the most important.
“We tried to show our soccer skills,” he said.
“We showed a good performance.”
“In particular, we showed good performance even when we were down 0-1,” he said.
“The opponent’s strategy of lowering the line and focusing on defense worked well until the beginning of the second half.
“Still, we tried to keep our composure,” he said.
“We needed one perfect opportunity, and Timo Werner took advantage of that opportunity and scored the equalizer.”
Son Heung-min’s goal was full of his unique sprint and decisiveness.
Half When Brennan Johnson sent the ball near the line, Son Heung-min started running, rushed to the penalty arc, and fired a right-footed shot.
Son Heung-min was asked, "He looks very calm when he is in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper.
What is his mindset when dealing with him?" N burst into laughter, saying, “I look calm, but I’m nervous,” and then showed humility by saying, “I’m grateful for the compliment.”
He continued, "It was a bit difficult because I ran almost 50m, but I tried to touch the ball well in front of the opponent so that they couldn"t touch me.
I try to stay as calm as possible in front of the goal and in one-on-one situations with the goalkeeper.
If I get too excited, I can kick the ball as I want."
“There were none and most of them failed to score, so I tried to stay calm,” he explained.
He did not forget to praise and encourage his colleagues who played together that day.
Regarding Werner, who scored his first goal since being loaned from Leipzig, Germany in January, he said, "He deserves to score and I"m really happy he scored," adding, "The fans and we hope he can show us more."
Regarding Brennan Johnson, who recorded two assists including his own goal, he said, "At the start of the game, I told him to be well prepared to come out (as a substitute).
I said, "You are a player who will make a difference in the game," but he came in and showed fantastic performance.
He said, There is no goal yet, but I am sure that if we continue like this, it will come automatically."