Son leads Spurs in win over Leicester

LONDON, May 2

Two marvellous goals by Son Heung-Min saw Tottenham Hotspur boost their hopes of a top-four finish in the Premier League with a comfortable 3-1 win. The match was of considerable significance with Tottenham currently just two points behind their north London rival Arsenal as they both strive for Champions League qualification.

Spurs Manager, Antonio Conte, said: “It was vital to get three points. There is only one result and a lot of pressure. But I told my players to enjoy this moment because we deserved it after really great work in these past six months.” Conte praised the quality of Son’s two goals, particularly the third.

“After an amazing goal my question was ‘which is his favourite foot, right or left’? We are just talking about a great player, fantastic player. But it’s important at the end of the season to celebrate a big achievement with the team. Otherwise, it remains only a personal success to score these goals.”

Conte added: “It was a good performance against a really good team. Despite the eight changes Leicester made you could see the quality Leicester have. This is three points at an important moment, especially as we play Liverpool and Arsenal next.”

Striker Harry Kane, who had not scored in the last five matches, opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. A shot by Ben Davis was deflected for a corner. Son took the corner kick and Kane moved away from Daniel Amartey to head in at the near right post for his 13th Premier League goal of the season. Leicester pressed hard and a shot by Patson Daka in the 39th minute went wide of the right post.

The second half began briskly and Spurs doubled the lead on the hour. Dejan Kulusevski, on as substitute, received a pass from Christian Romero and after pacing ahead he crossed to Son who then turned a full circle with two defenders on him and placed a left foot shot inside the far post.

Leicester players protested at the robust sliding tackle that Romero had made on Caglar Soyuncu before he passed to Kulusevski. Leicester Manager, Brendon Rodgers, later said: “I have no problem with the tackle. I have problem with us not winning the tackle.”

With 11 minutes remaining, Son scored his second goal, his season’s 19th in the Premier League. It was a beautiful left-footed curling shot that floated high into the top far corner after he had, once again, received the pass from Kulusevski on the right. The Swede has been an excellent signing from Juventus this season. Leicester scored a consolation goal in injury time with Kelechi Iheanacho’s low shot from outside the box.

Rodgers said: “I’m frustrated with the way the game went. We conceded a really, really soft second goal. I’m happy with the way our squad is. We could have gone strong but our season has been riddled with injuries and our schedule has been so heavy. It is nice to be able to rotate.”