grapplegraphics.com Premier League leaders Tottenham Hotspur will host Chelsea in the 11th round of the 2023-2024 Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on Sunday (May 7).
Tottenham will face their former manager Mauricio Pochettino. Pochettino is in charge of Chelsea.
Pochettino is the coach who brought Tottenham to their glory days. He managed Spurs for six years, starting in 2013, and took them to the Premier League’s Big Six.
Although Spurs didn’t win the trophies they were hoping for, they still managed to be a contender in major competitions, including the 2016-2017 Premier League runner-up and the 2018-2019 UEFA Champions League runner-up.레모나토토
Pochettino, in particular, has turned Tottenham into a completely different team. A team that has recently been able to create explosiveness.
Pochettino’s signing of Son Heung-min from the German Bundesliga was one of his most savvy moves.
Originally, Pochettino was a fan of Son’s skills and decided to sign him from Leverkusen in 2015. This completed the combination of Son, Harry Kane, Dele Alli, and Christian Eriksen that would become a fearsome Tottenham side with future desk connections.
Of course, Son’s arrival in the Premier League took some time. Having played consistently in the Bundesliga since his professional debut, the Premier League was new to him. He needed time to adjust, and he experienced his fair share of struggles along the way. In his first season in the Premier League, the 2015-2016 season, he struggled, scoring just four goals. He even considered calling it quits after just one season.
The story of Son Heung-min trying to return to Germany after a year at Tottenham is well known. In fact, Bundesliga side Wolfsburg were prepared to pay the transfer fee Tottenham paid to Leverkusen for Son. For Spurs, it was a time when they could have recouped their money and signed a new striker at the same time.
But Pochettino believed in Son and gave him a chance. Pochettino believed in Son and gave him a chance.
In 2018, Son said, “Pochettino encouraged me to stay. He showed me a lot of moves in off-the-ball situations,” he said.
After taking Pochettino’s advice, Son’s second season was a different story. Perfecting his first season’s issues, Heung-min exploded onto the Premier League scene with 14 goals and has now scored in double figures in seven consecutive seasons. Michael Owen, Romelu Lukaku, Jamie Vardy, and Robbie Keane are the only other players to score double figures in the Premier League for seven consecutive seasons.
The likes of Sadio Mane and Thierry Henry’s eight consecutive seasons of double-digit scoring are also within reach, as they are on pace to score 10+ goals again this season.
Most notably, Heung-min scored 23 goals in the 2021-2022 season, becoming the first Asian player to lead the Premier League in goals. He was tied with Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) for the top spot on the list, and he didn’t miss a single penalty.
As a result, Heung-min has become the face of not only Tottenham, but the Premier League.
He now ranks 24th on the all-time list with 111 goals in the Premier League alone. With every goal he scores, he climbs steeply up the list. He’s not far behind Ian Wright in 23rd place (113 goals) and Steven Gerrard in 21st place (120 goals).
This season, Son’s impact has been even greater. Playing him as a central striker has given him a wing to score goals. Starting with a hat trick against Burnley, followed by a multi-goal game against Arsenal, a goal against Liverpool, and a goal against Fulham, Son has scored eight goals in a row.
It’s a strong vote of confidence from manager Enzi Postecoglou, who has been using Son as a striker. “It’s like watching Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United when he was a winger,” Postecoglou said of the goalscoring streak. “I’ve always thought he’s a great finisher, and he’s got great movement,” he added, giving him a thumbs-up.
“Tottenham were under a lot of pressure after Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich, but Son Heung-min changed his position to frontline striker and performed at his best,” the Premier League said on May 5 (KST).
“Son has scored eight goals in seven games up front this season. Since moving from the left flank to the center against Burnley in September, Heung-min has continued to impress. After scoring a hat-trick against Burnley, Heung-min has since found the back of the net in five of his last seven games.”
Son has been in scoring form this season with eight goals in 10 Premier League games.
With the captain firmly established as a frontline striker, Tottenham have also been on the rise. Spurs remain unbeaten in the Premier League this season with eight wins, two draws, and 26 points.
“It’s more complicated in the center than on the flanks, but Son is clever. He’s capable of playing up front,” he said. “If you think about the defense, our defense starts with Son Heung-min pressing up front. It’s an idea I came up with and it’s working.”
It’s clear that Son Heung-min is here to stay this season. Heung-min’s performance has opened up the conversation about signing a striker.
In particular, he fills the void left by the departure of club legend Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.
As Sky Sports put it, “Since Kane’s departure, Son has looked more dangerous. Just as Cristiano Ronaldo has moved from the flanks to the center, Son is evolving into a true striker.” “He is touching the ball more inside the penalty box than he did last season. He is playing well as a striker.”
“Heung-min is doing well in the striker position,” said Gibmi Sport, adding, “He can also play as a striker. There are a lot of doubts about his performance, but it’s too early to tell if Tottenham are planning to sign a striker in the transfer market.”
Just as Pochettino opened up the possibility of winning the title, Postecoglou is turning Spurs into a team that can win the title.
Son, of course, is cautious about the title. “I’m not thinking about winning the title at all. Having experienced the Premier League, I can’t say I’m running for the title yet. It’s still early in the season.” “I’m just thinking about getting three points in every game. I want to see what happens in the second half of the season. We will work hard and hope for results.”
Pochettino is cautious when facing Tottenham: Chelsea are currently in 12th place with three wins, three draws and four losses. It’s going to be a tough game against Spurs. But they can’t give up.
In his pre-match press conference, Pochettino said: “We all know what kind of player Son Heung-min is. He’s a fantastic player, one of the best in the Premier League,” Pochettino said in praise of his protégé.
“It’s not me who stops him. Our center backs have to stop him,” he laughed, adding, “I don’t want him to have a good night before the game against us.”
Son will be facing Pochettino for the first time. The pressure is on Pochettino.