It’s literally a shocking game, so there’s a lot of controversy.
Tottenham lost 0-1 to Crystal Palace in the ninth round of the 2024-2025 Premier League at Selhurst Park in London on the 28th (Korea time). It lost to Jean-Philippe Mateta in the 31st minute of the first half, and has not recovered since then. Crystal Palace, ranked 17th among the 20 teams, had three draws and five losses until the eighth round, and although it had never won since the opening, it secured a valuable one win in nine games when it caught Tottenham.
Captain Son Heung-min was absent from Tottenham’s game on the day. Son has thus missed five of Tottenham’s recent six games. With his hamstring injury in the back of his left thigh, attention is focusing on whether he will return to the ground or not. His move is expected to draw attention as he is also scheduled to join the national team in November.
Son suffered a hamstring injury in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) match against Karabak FK late last month. Son did not appear to be seriously injured, but he has not played in a total of six matches, including two A matches. It is the first time that Son has suffered an orbital fracture ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and was put on the operating table.
Of course, Son Heung-min returned after checking his condition during the A-match break. In particular, he showed a brilliant performance against West Ham United on the 19th. Against West Ham, Son Heung-min led the team to a 4-1 victory by scoring a come-from-behind goal, inducing a wedge goal, and even scoring an additional goal himself.
In addition, Son was named the BBC’s second top 11 Premier League player this season. However, he missed the previous AZ Alkmaar match. As the team failed to play in the match against Palace due to his injury, Timo Werner and Mikey Moore were appointed as substitutes.
Werner displayed flimsy performance in place of Son Heung-min, but showed a big difference in finishing touches. In the end, Moore made his debut as a substitute. However, it was not enough. Moore touched the ball 25 times for 62 minutes and recorded 0 dribbling success. He failed in all three attempts, and was disappointed. The ball competition success rate was also very low at 33 percent (3/9).
Tottenham had 66.2% of the ball possession rate on the day, but fell to 14-20 in the number of shots. In short, they needed a player who grabbed the ball and dragged the opponent’s defense and fired shots, but Son Heung-min’s presence was also left with a regret as he failed to replace his irreplaceable presence.
The BBC once again pointed out that Tottenham is now in the “Tottenham culture.” The culture of Tottenham is based on the fact that it often loses when it is necessary to secure a championship. BBC criticized that Tottenham was typical. He seemed timid throughout the first half and failed to turn his share into an opportunity.
The BBC once again mentioned the absence of Son Heung-min, its captain and ace player. The media outlet sighed, “Tottenham needed someone to lead the team in place of Son. But there was none. I missed Son’s influence especially in attacking.”
Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario personally criticized the players. “We are a big club even though Son Heung-min is absent. We should have dealt with his absence when there are so many players,” he said. “We need to win the match without him. We lacked mental strength, not soccer in the first place.” 스포츠토토
