Son shines brightest in Tottenham 2-1 win over Villa
By Gary Pearson
Pierre Hojberg and Son Heung-min scored to earn Tottenham a pivotal victory, breaking the club’s three-match losing streak in the process.
Son Heung-min’s impressive exploits propelled the home side to a much needed three points over Aston Villa. Son’s influence grew as time transpired, with the South Korean at the centre of most notable Tottenham attacks.
Four minutes after Villa equalized through an Ollie Watkins tap in, Son sprung into action, making sure his side wouldn’t endure the sour taste of another disappointing result. Son burst down the left wing and knocked in a teasing low cross for Lucas Moura.
Son would have accentuated an already impressive performance had he found his shooting boots. He had a few excellent chances that he failed to make good on, but take nothing away from the way in which he dominated on the ball.
Tanguy Ndombele showed glimpses of brilliance but was, like Spurs supporters have become accustomed to, unable to provide the consistency required to be a top performer.
Like Tanguy, Harry Kane showed periods of brilliance and enjoyed his football more as time elapsed. He was unlucky not to break his Premier League duck, but will take solace in coming close on a couple of occasions. Everyone knows it’s only a matter of time before Harry starts scoring in the Premier League. I thought his midweek hat trick in the Europa Conference match was a sign of things to come, but we’ll have to wait another week before he breaks free from his current top flight slump.
When he does, goals will almost certainly come in bunches for Tottenham’s talisman.
While imperfect on numerous fronts, the win will do a lot for Spurs collective confidence. Still not nearly clinical enough in front of goal, Tottenham will be happy with the amount of chances they created, particularly in the second half.
Nuno will still be pensive about his side’s propensity to fall asleep at the back or commit unnecessary defensive blunders. Cristian Romero committed too early and Eric Dier fell asleep at the front post on Villa’s only goal of the game, a sequence of events that Spurs can ill-afford.
But the victory is the most important headline for Spurs, who won their first league game after three successive defeats. Nuno’s side climbed to eighth place in the top flight with the victory.