Sports
WHEN Son Heung-min or Harry Kane score, the other is usually involved.
It is a combination we have got used to seeing and the pair linked up again for the 50th time in all competitions as Tottenham beat Frankfurt 3-2 to go top of their Champions League group.
“We just understand each other really well,” South Korea star Son told BT Sport afterwards, as his double helped Tottenham edge closer to qualification for the knockout stages.
Kane set up Son’s equaliser after Frankfurt had taken an early lead, before the 29-year-old England captain scored from the penalty spot.
Son, 30, went on to score a thumping volley in the second half, and despite Kane missing another penalty in stoppage time, both were otherwise on top form at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I know what [Kane] likes to do and he’s the same. The relationship has always been a pay-off for hard work. Many more [goals] to come I hope,” added Son.
Since the start of last season, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (39) is the only Premier League player with more goals in all competitions than Kane (36) and Son (29).
Tottenham have had a two-year absence from the Champions League and have not hit the heights they once did in Europe under former manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Since their defeat by Liverpool in the 2018-19 final, Spurs have failed to go beyond the last 16 in the Champions League or the Europa League and were knocked out in the group stages of the Europa Conference League last season.
However, their fluent attacking display on Wednesday provides hope they could go further in Europe under manager Antonio Conte.
German football expert Raphael Honigstein said “Spurs are back” after their performance because “they come alive when they go forward”.
“That combination between Son and Kane is incredible,” he added.
“Son is playing with real confidence and that is a testament to how Spurs have adapted to Antonio Conte’s style of football. They are unstoppable like this.”
‘Son looked really in the mood’
It has not always been smooth for Son this season as the South Korean fired blanks in his first six games after netting 23 goals in 2021-22.
Son was even dropped to the bench for their Premier League game against Leicester City but he responded by netting a 13-minute hat-trick as a substitute.
“Son’s had his critics this season but he’s answering them. He looked really in the mood,” former Tottenham striker Peter Crouch said on BT Sport after Spurs’ victory over Frankfurt.
Former Spurs manager Glenn Hoddle added: “Forget what was going on in the earlier part of the season, Son was looking sharp and he’s getting there.
“It gives him that confidence that he has been looking for. His technique [for the volley] was fantastic and we were all thinking he’d go on to get his hat-trick.”
Son’s stunning volley to put Spurs 3-1 ahead capped off an impressive performance and he was given a standing ovation when he came off late in the second half.
Kane was also praised for his hold-up play, while Richarlison worked tirelessly to create space for his attacking team-mates.
And former England midfielder Owen Hargreaves believes Tottenham will continue to cause teams problems in the competition because of their threat up front.
“These guys are so good. You trust them to go and do the job,” he told BT Sport.
“Son is the best finisher with his weaker foot in the world of football. He could not have hit that volley any sweeter. He can score fabulous goals.”
‘I was a bit scared’
Spurs were on course for a routine win, leading 3-1, until Faride Alidou gave Frankfurt hope before Kane uncharacteristically missed a penalty to kill the game at the death.
“The negative aspect is the final part and it has to be a big lesson for everybody, for me, for the players,” said Conte. “The game finishes when the referee whistles three times.
“In the last part of the game, everybody conceded the game ended and for this reason we made a big mistake. We conceded a corner they scored, then we had the opportunity to score the penalty but we missed the penalty.
“When we missed the penalty honestly, I was a bit scared, because I thought everything can happen.
“It is difficult, now we are talking with a smile because we won. But imagine if this game finished a draw. That would have been a disaster.”
-BBC sport
KN
Tags: Champions League Mohamed Salah Son Heung-min Tottenham
