Tottenham Hotspur have been dealing with a number of injuries to some key players. However, that hasn’t stopped them from getting positive results. Despite not having Harry Kane or Dele Alli, the Spurs secured a huge 1-0 win at home over Newcastle this Sunday. The lone goal came thanks to Heung-Min Son, who keeps playing a pivotal role on Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
Son’s contributions shouldn’t be looked over. The South Korea international has scored twice in his two outings since returning from the Asian Cup. And while he’s not a striker per se, he looks quite comfortable playing upfront. He had Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela behind him, though, so with those two playmakers, things can be far easier.
But back to the development of the game. The Spurs were the better side right from the start of the game and were always creating scoring chances. Lamela looked particularly active and Lucas, who operated on a strange LM role, was the beneficiary of his involvement. The former PSG winger had two clear chances to find the back of the net, but both of his efforts were slightly off target. Newcastle couldn’t pose much of a threat and while Salomon Rondon was threatening, he lacked company to pose much of a threat.
Things didn’t change much during the second half. Tottenham kept pushing forward and dominating the play, and Son quickly became an important player. Before that, though, Newcastle had a golden chance with a header from Rondon and Tottenham responded with an effort from Kieran Trippier. For the most part, however, the second half looked as if neither side was going to score. Until Son came through.
In the 83th minute, a lobbed ball into the box went towards Fernando Llorente, and the Spaniard quickly connected with Son. The Korean dribbled past two players and unleashed a shot from outside the box that found the back of the net. Much of the goal happened due to Martin Dubravka, though. Newcastle’s goalkeeper should have done better in this sequence, and ended conceding the goal when the ball went through his legs. It was an easy attempt, but he made a mistake and the Spurs were benefited because of that.
Despite what happened, the numbers don’t lie and the Spurs deserved the win. Tottenham had 72% of possession, and generated 21 goal attempts against Newcastle’s eight. The passing totals were a fair reflection of the game as well; the Spurs completed 748 passes and Newcastle “only” completed 295.
All things considered, it was a huge win for Tottenham. One they desperately needed considering the current state of the team.
Match Report
Tottenham: Lloris (7); Trippier (7), Sanchez (6), Alderweireld (6), Vertonghen (7); Sissoko (6), Winks (5); Lamela (7) (Rose (-), 78′), Eriksen (6), Lucas Moura (5) (Llorente (6), 60′); Son (8) (Dier (-), 89′)
Subs not used: Gazzaniga (GK), Foyth, Walker-Peters, Wanyama
Newcastle: Dubravka (4); Yedlin (5), Schar (7), Lascelles (6), Lejeune (5), Richie (7) (Barreca (-), 86′); Perez (5), Longstaff (6), Hayden (7), Atsu (6) (Kenedy (-), 82′); Rondon (6)
Subs not used: Woodman (GK), Fernandez, Clark, Manquillo, Joselu
Goals: Son (1-0, 83′)
Yellow cards: Yedlin (NEW)
Red cards: None
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