Tottenham should break the five-game winless 勝 chain. Son Heung-min was not in perfect physical condition ahead of the weekend match against Newcastle United, which is chasing after the team in seventh place in the Premier League.
Tottenham will play the 16th round of the 2023-24 Season Premier League at its home stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, on the 11th. As it suffered a come-from-behind 1-2 loss to West Ham in the 15th round home game, it must somehow find a clue to its rebound in this game.
Son struggled for 88 minutes against West Ham. Midway through the second half, he had a strong physical fight with Vladivostok and had a collision with his left hip. According to the British media Mirror, Son replied, "It's okay. Let's wait and see," but he was in pain and had to wait and see the result of his detailed diagnosis later.
On Thursday, he was able to learn about the mood through Tottenham's official website. Coach Enzi Postecoglou said in a press conference ahead of the match against Newcastle United that "there is no more special update yet," but added, "We have to wait and see the results of the detailed diagnosis on Wednesday. Except for Son, there are no additional injuries."
Captain Son Heung-min started against West Ham. Behind Son were Dejan Kulusevski, Giovanni Rosselso, and Brennan Johnson, who supported the firepower. Yves Bissouma and Pierre-Emile Hoivier took two midfield positions, while Pedro Porro at right fullback and Christian Romero, who was suspended for three games due to his exit against Chelsea, returned to pair with Ben Davies. Destiny Udogi played at left fullback and goalie Vicario wore goalie gloves.
The send-off man is back, but Tottenham is suffering from an injury ward recently. Key players Van der Ben and Madison were injured, causing problems with the core line. Until the match against Aston Villa, there were 11 defectors, including the send-off man.
He also lost one more resource available for the midfield. Bentancur, who had recovered for nine months due to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament against Leicester City in the 2022-23 season, returned to play on the field, but was 'murder tackle' by Aston Villa defender Matty Cash. Fell on the ground around 30 minutes in the first half, he was hit in the shin and ankle, and complained of pain. He couldn't escape from the pain for a long time, and after that, he received emergency treatment from the deployed medical team.
He tried to run more, but ended up back on the bench. Bentancur sent a sign to the Tottenham bench that he could no longer play. Local media outlets reported that it would take a long time to recover from the injury, informing them of the scene where he complained of severe pain and the scene where he limped off the field.
"Matty Cash's tackles were not great," Postecoglou said. "Bentancourt played well against Aston Villa. She is a really creative player. Thanks to her, we scored the first goal and got off to a good start. However, Bentancourt's departure from the injury is something we didn't want. I am very disappointed."
According to the club's official website, it was expected to take at least two months to recover from the injury. It was a desperate moment for Tottenham, which led the Premier League with no loss until the 10th round.
The difference in power between the best lineup and the rotation lineup, which had been pointed out since the opening of the season, has been revealed since the 11th round. The team failed to win a single game during November. The only comforting moment was finding a clue to rebound with a 3-3 draw against Manchester City.
If the team beat West Ham, it would have earned three points in five matches. If it wins on the day, it would have to lay the groundwork for its rebound at home as it could tie with fourth-place Manchester City with 30 points.
Son Heung-min scored his ninth goal in the league by scoring in the previous match against Manchester City. One more goal means double-digit points. If Son scored against West Ham, it would be double-digit points in the Premier League for the eighth consecutive season. He met West Ham 17 times in total in official matches, with eight goals and seven assists. Tottenham also had a high possibility as it had eight wins, three draws and six losses against West Ham.
Son led Tottenham's attack from the front and struggled. Tottenham also set the mood under Son's dedication and enthusiasm for home spectators. Rather than giving up the initiative easily, Son targeted West Ham's net. He seemed to gain the upper hand by scoring the first goal from a corner kick 10 minutes after kick-off with Christian Romero's header.
Even after scoring the first goal for his team, Son made all-out efforts to score additional goals. When he caught the ball in front of the box, he boldly attempted to shoot. He also displayed good teamwork with his Tottenham teammates. He also shook the West Ham defense with threatening shots at the 17th minute of the first half.
He added to his three-point commitment by ending the first half with a one-goal lead. According to official records, Tottenham recorded 77 percent of ball possession in the first half. There were five shots, and five on goal. One of the five on goal led to a score. Passes scored 444 in the first 45 minutes. He made most of them, with a 92 percent pass success rate. Corner kicks were attempted four times and fouls were made seven. There was no warning.
Perhaps it was a perfect start, but West Ham was never easy. It is upping the mood in the UEFA Europa League, which is currently being played in parallel with the Premier League. If the Europa League is included, the team continued its upward trend with four wins and one draw in the five official matches, and hence the team pulled the reins in the second half.
Tottenham lost energy in the second half. They did not give up possession of the ball, but they were reeling from straightforward attacks at West Ham. After blocking Tottenham's attack, West Ham handled the ball as if kicking it forward, but it caught Bowen's toe.
It was in Tottenham's favor. Tottenham had five defenders blocking the attack on West Ham, and three of them, including Bowen and Kudus, counterattacked.
However, the goddess of luck smiled at West Ham, not Tottenham. Cudus' shot hit Romero and the prisoner in succession and landed in front of Bowen's feet, who was penetrating. With the goalkeeper close to one-on-one, he calmly pushed in and shook Tottenham's net.
West Ham, who scored the equalizer, pushed Tottenham further. Lucas Paqueta tried to shoot, cooling Vicario goalkeeper Ganda. After that, he shook the balance of Tottenham's team by aiming at Tottenham's net with a corner kick set piece.
Bocek received a pass from the side and tried to shoot in the box. Vicario goalkeeper was saved. Even if the goal was scored, it was not recognized as an offside decision. Tottenham made all-out efforts to score additional goals using Brian Hill and Kluszewski.
West Ham made full use of Tottenham pushing up. In the 28th minute of the second half, West Ham turned the game around. Tottenham made a fatal mistake in the process of the rear build-up. Udo-ki's back pass was inaccurate and West Ham did not miss its prey. After trying to press, they made a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. The Ward-Frouse shot hit the post, but it bounced back and fell in front of his feet, and finished with an accurate shot.
When West Ham turned the game around, they focused on their defense. Even though Tottenham launched an attack, they blocked the shot with a solid dense defense. Tottenham needed a decisive shot, but even Son Heung-min left the ground complaining of pain after the collision. He tapped for extra time, but the tightly locked West Ham net did not open, and the goddess of victory smiled toward West Ham.
"I hope it's okay. I got a strong kick towards my back bone. I haven't checked with the club's medical team yet. We have to wait and see what kind of condition he is in," Son said in an interview after the match.
Rather than injury, he criticized the team for not winning its fifth game. "Whether it was a better performance or not, we lost. It is unacceptable. We were winning. I think defeat against West Ham is unacceptable. As players, we have to take responsibility."
"West Ham were a difficult team. But we knew what was coming. One goal lead was not enough. This game had to be won. It is unacceptable. Fans should not receive such results. When it was 1-0, we should have played better with more energy, but we didn't. This is why we lost," he said.
They were in a good mood after scoring the first goal, but they warned that such a situation should not happen in the future. "If we have a chance to win the game, we have to do better. Strikers including me had a chance to score more goals and finish the game. I feel responsibility. I know today's upset loss is really sad and disappointing for fans. We have to recover quickly. We lost today, but we have to move forward and play again," Son said.
Local media also conveyed the atmosphere of the interview, saying, "Son Heung-min had a soft tone, but he shouted at Tottenham's teammates."
The same was true for Postecoglou. "We were in control of the game well. We needed to score more goals in the game. We created a lot of chances to score. But we lacked confidence in the box and conceded two goals to our opponents. We have earned it. What a disappointing result." 안전 토토사이트
