Son Heung-min! Why did Son Heung-min throw off his face mask?
This is why Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham), a “sonational,” threw off his face mask himself. Son Heung-min threw off the face mask he was wearing in the 18th round of the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2022-2023 season against Aston Villa at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on New Year’s Day. It was about 18 minutes into the first half. Son Heung-min, who started as a left striker, made a touch mistake while trying to get the ball down near the half-line. Tottenham faced a counterattack in an instant. Son Heung-min managed to catch up with Leon Bailey, who was running to Tottenham’s camp, and overcame the crisis by cutting the ball. The first thing I did next was to take off my mask. Then he made a gesture of sorry toward his Tottenham teammates.
Son Heung-min, who suffered an eye fracture in the European Champions League match against Olympique Marseille in November last year, started the 2022 Qatar World Cup wearing a specially designed mask. He also introduced an assist that led South Korea to advance to the round of 16, but it was said that the ball touch and dribble were not smooth due to the influence of the mask. Experienced people who ran in the game wearing masks described it as “feeling like looking for things in a dark room.” On this day, Son Heung-min made a blush mistake that was hard to imagine. I guess I couldn’t accept it myself. I took off my mask and threw it out of the sideline. Son Heung-min played with his mask off for the remaining 70 minutes. This is the first time that he played without his mask after returning from injury.
Son Heung-min, who secured his vision in a “mask-free” state, looked a little more active. He dug into the left side and crossed, and was taken away while trying to break through a bold breakthrough near the half-line. The penetration pass toward Harry Kane in the second half was somewhat long, but confirming Kane’s location itself is a positive sign. Although he remained silent on the day and failed to break the scoreless streak in eight consecutive league games, his passive play has certainly decreased compared to the match against Brentford on the 26th of last month, his team’s return match after the World Cup. A performance that makes you look forward to tomorrow. There were concerns among fans about the recurrence of the injury, but Son Heung-min said, “It was okay,” adding, “There was no pain.
Despite this fighting spirit, the team’s performance was frustrating. Tottenham failed to record effective shots except for Son Heung-min’s direct free kick in the first half. Tottenham, which has been scoreless in six league games since the match against Manchester United on October 20 last year, had no choice but to play the game with difficulty due to its chronic habit of allowing first runs. With the first half at 0-0, Emiliano Buendia scored the first goal five minutes into the second half. Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris failed to properly handle Douglas Lewis’ mid-range shot and gave Buendia a chance to shoot a rebound. It was dealt with as a ‘mistake directly related to losing points’ by Yoris. Tottenham, which scored the first goal in seven consecutive games in the league, even wrote a disgraceful record of multiple runs in seven consecutive games by donating one more goal to Lewis in the 28th minute of the second half. It is the first time in more than 34 years that Tottenham has allowed multiple runs in seven consecutive games in the league since November 1988, even before Son Heung-min was born. Tottenham, which had only two wins (one draw and four losses) in the seven games, failed to recapture the fourth place. 5th place Tottenham (17 games) scored 30 points and 4th place Manchester United (16 games) scored 32 points.
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte’s expression was always dark. In the additional loss scene, he wetted his dry lips and bit his lips gently. In the extra time of the second half, when he was dragged 0-2, he looked blank as if he had given up, raised the corner of one of his lips, and then lowered his head. Based on past cases, fans analyzed that “Coach Conte makes an expression when he wants to leave the team.” Coach Conte said, “It may be best to stay in fifth place. “It was a miracle to enter the top 4 last season,” he said significantly. Local media predict that Conte will ask Chairman Daniel Levy to recruit players by linking the recent slump in the January transfer market to a lack of player Debs. Coach Conte actually left a hint about the player award he wanted, saying he lacked “creative players.”
Son Heung-min said, “The team is not in a good mood. There are certainly areas that need to be improved. I hope I can recover soon and play a good game on Wednesday,” he said. Tottenham will play Crystal Palace away on the 5th.
