Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min sent a message to the fans after the loss to Chelsea, expressing his gratitude and determination.
Tottenham were unable to overcome a numerical disadvantage and lost 1-4 to Chelsea in the 11th round of the 2023/24 Premier League on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, after having two players sent off.
The match was highly anticipated as it was a clash between two of the Premier League’s biggest clubs. Leading up to the game, many people favored Spurs to win given their recent form and results.
Prior to the game, Spurs were unbeaten in their opening 10 games (8 wins and 2 draws) and in contention at the top of the table, while Chelsea were in 13th place.
The fact that the game was being played at Spurs’ home also tilted the odds in favor of Spurs.
In particular, the presence of Son Heung-min boosted the expectations of Spurs fans who wanted a win. Prior to the game, Son had scored eight goals in 10 league games, making him the second highest scorer in the Premier League behind Elling Holland (Manchester City), who has 11 goals.
With Son’s form at an all-time high, many fans were eager to see if he could keep his team’s momentum going with a goal against Chelsea, but Tottenham’s 1-4 loss to the Blues ended their unbeaten league run at 11 games.
Playing Son up front in a 4-2-3-1 system, Spurs took the lead in the sixth minute when Dejan Kuluczewski’s shot deflected off the back of defender Levi Colwill and into the net.
Despite Son Heung-min having a goal ruled out for offside in the 13th minute, Tottenham dominated the early stages of the game and put Chelsea under pressure.
After a promising start, Spurs were dealt a blow in the 33rd minute when vice-captain and defender Christian Romero was sent off for a direct challenge. 안전토토사이트
Inside the box, Romero stepped on the foot of Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, and video assistant referee (VAR) showed a red card and a penalty kick.
Cole Palmer converted the penalty to level the game, and Spurs were forced to play the remainder of the game with 10 men.
Spurs’ woes didn’t end there.
In first-half stoppage time, Spurs were forced to make two key substitutions when defender Micky Van der Penne and midfielder James Maddison were both forced off with pain.
To make matters worse, left-back Destiny Udogie was sent off in the 10th minute of the second half for accumulating cautions, leaving Spurs to face Chelsea with nine men.
The Blues used their numerical advantage to put Spurs under pressure before Senegalese striker Nicolas Jackson scored a hat-trick in the second half to turn the game around and secure a three-goal victory.
In the end, Tottenham’s unbeaten run ended with a 1-4 defeat at home to Chelsea, leaving them with 26 points (8W2D1L) and second place in the league, failing to overtake the lead held by Man City (27W9D2L).
After the game, Son Heung-min sent a message to his fans on social media.
Heung-min, who started and played the entire game, thanked the fans for their support and apologized for not living up to their expectations.
“Your support last night was amazing. “
We made mistakes as a team and put ourselves in a difficult position,” he said, adding, “Your energy and atmosphere in the stadium gave us a lot of strength.
“We made mistakes as a team and put ourselves in a tough spot, but we’ll learn from them, we’ll bounce back, and we’ll be stronger together.”
“I woke up this morning proud of the boys and the fans, and I’m excited to get right back to work.
COYS (Come on You Spurs),” he added.
The time difference between England and South Korea is nine hours.
Son, who spent the evening sleeping and recovering from the game, sent a message to fans after waking up, promising to use the loss to Chelsea to come back stronger with his teammates.
Now in his ninth year with Tottenham, having played for the club since 2015, Son was named club captain ahead of the 2023/24 season.
With 153 goals and 81 assists in 384 games since joining Tottenham, Son has become a club legend, and in his new role, he is set to take on a new challenge.
With the added pressure of leading the team as captain, as well as erasing last season’s disappointment, Son is now one of the Premier League’s top strikers.
In particular, his goal-scoring prowess has exploded since September, when he switched from left winger to frontline striker and became the spearhead of Tottenham’s attack.
Son scored six goals in four games during the month of September, earning him the September Player of the Month award from the Premier League’s secretariat.
This is the fourth player of the month award of his career.
This ties him with Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, and Frank Lampard for the most awards. Only six players (Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane, Steven Gerrard, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Robin van Persie) have won more Player of the Month awards than Son Heung-min.
Son’s form continued in October, with two goals and an assist in three games.
His form helped Tottenham stay in contention at the top of the table, going unbeaten in their opening 10 games before the loss to Chelsea.
Heung-min is once again in the top scorer’s race after a stellar 2021/22 season in which he finished tied for second in the Premier League with eight goals alongside Mohamed Salah (Liverpool).
With the loss to Chelsea in the rearview mirror, Son will now turn his attention to the 2023/24 Premier League Round 13 clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux Stadium on Nov. 11 at 9:30 p.m. ET.
The presence of Hwang Hee-chan in Wolverhampton has increased the interest of Korean soccer fans, as a ‘Korean Derby’ is likely to be staged.
Hwang has scored six goals in the league so far and, like Son Heung-min, is a key striker for the team.