Son Heung-min (32, Tottenham Hotspur), who struggled hard but suffered harsh criticism at the Premier League’s opening game, shook off his performance as if showing at home. He banged on two goals against Everton, signaling his presence as a top-class striker.
Son Heung-min started in the second round of the English Premier League in the 2024-25 season against Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on the 25th (Korea time) and played full-time for 90 minutes. With Tottenham holding a one-goal lead in the match, he scored his first goal of the season in the 25th minute of the first half and scored another additional goal to end the complete victory in the 33rd minute of the second half, focusing on Tottenham’s 4-0 victory.
Tottenham had a disappointing start as it tied 1-1 even though it scored the first goal in an away match at Leicester City, the opening game of this season’s Premier League. However, it snatched Everton with a scoreless and multi-goal victory in its opening game, catching both results and contents.
Son returned to the “hand saw” on the day to play. Ahead of the match against Everton, Dominic Solanke, who recorded Tottenham’s highest ever this summer, was unable to play due to an ankle injury. As Hisharlisson was unable to play full-time for 90 minutes due to his injury, he had to let veteran and team captain Son Heung-min take the No. 9 position.
Postecoglou checked Son as a left winger from his original position from the pre-season. During the Asian tour (Korea and Japan), he attempted an unconventional combination to put Dejan Klusevski at the forefront. At the match against Everton, however, he put aside the Son winger he used in the match against Leicester City and revived the Son top, which he used last season, to lead his team’s offense.
Postecoglou put Son Heung-min at the top in the match against Everton and entrusted Wilson Odover, James Maddison, Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson with firepower from behind. Yves Bissouma, who was suspended for one game due to the shocking “laughing gas” incident, played in the defensive midfielder position. Destiny Udogi, Mickey van der Pen, Christian Romero, and Pedro were in the defense while Vicario was wearing goalie gloves.
For Everton, Dominique Calvert-Lewin aimed for Tottenham’s net. Idrissa Gana Gueye, Tim Iroogbunam, Dwight McNeil, Abdullaye Dukur and Jack Harrison coordinated attack and defense at the waist, while Mykolenko, Michael Keane, James Tacowski and Roman Dixon defended. The Everton goal was kept by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Tottenham seemed to be trying to dispel its lackluster performance in the match against Leicester City at home. From the beginning of the first half, he strongly drove Everton, and made all-out efforts to score the first goal. While running freely at one-top, Son played with his second-tier teammates including James Maddison. After receiving the ball in the “Son Heung-min Zone” six minutes into the first half, he attempted a right-footed shot to make Everton nervous.
Tottenham put pressure on Son Heung-min and scored the first goal right away. Kloosevskiy penetrated Everton’s pressure and passed a sharp pass. Bissouma penetrated Everton’s defense net with a threatening right-footed shot, shaking the net. As Bissouma had been under fire for posting a video of himself inhaling laughter gas on social networking sites ahead of the Premier League’s opening match, he bowed his head to his home fans to express his apologies.
After Tottenham’s first goal, the second goal came from Son Heung-min’s toe. After Everton’s throw-in situation, Son Heung-min was doing a rear build-up and attempted bold forward pressure by predicting the path stem. Goalkeeper Pick Ford tried to change direction by controlling the ball with his left foot, but the timing was late and he lost the ball to Son Heung-min.
Son has displayed poor performance so far by scoring his first goal of the season. When he played as a left winger in the match against Leicester City but failed to score 0 effective shots and attack points, British broadcaster Craig Burley said Son was arrogant, adding, “I felt his arrogance in passing and shooting. He seemed to think that he could not lose the match. He was overwhelming Leicester City and even felt his arrogance that he would score an additional goal soon.”
“Son Heung-min is now in the past tense. Once a perfect option to attack Tottenham, it is no longer the case. It is one of many options to attack. Son is not on an upward curve. He is not eligible to start. Son must be among the players that his team should sell this summer.” 스포츠토토
However, Son shook off the criticism at home with a clean finish and bold tactical forward pressure. Tottenham also continued to drive Everton with an additional goal, and Christian Romero swung through the net with a header in the second half.
When Tottenham perfectly won, Son Heung-min sealed it. Central defender Mickey van de Penn boldly stabbed the ball deep into the offensive area after dribbling. Son Heung-min, who was rushing to the left, hit the eye, and Son Heung-min calmly tried to shoot his left foot to shake the net.
Son has scored 122 goals overall in the Premier League through multiple goals at the match against Everton. He surpassed Romelu Lukaku (121 goals) and Steven Gerrard (120 goals) to rank 21st overall in the history of the Premier League. Now that the schedule for the Premier League has begun, Son has endless records to break.
After the match, Son was named the official MVP of the Premier League secretariat. Football magazine Footmob also gave Son a rating of nine points when selecting MOM. Son, who had recorded a total of three shots at the match against Everton, scored two of his shots. The success rate of his passes was 80 percent (28/35).
Son Heung-min’s run starts now. During his visit to Korea for friendly matches with the K-League and Bayern Munich in the pre-season, he said, “I’m ready to do whatever it takes me to the next level. I’m really trying to hit the limit enough to do it until the end. Likewise, I want to see how far my limitations are in this season. There is still a lot of work to be done in the Premier League. As a soccer player and person, I hope it will be an opportunity to grow to the next level. I will do every season as much as I can for the team. I’m ready to do whatever it takes me to the next level.”
