Son Heung-min (Tottenham) was criticized by the local media for his lackluster opening game as captain.
Son’s club Tottenham drew 2-2 with Brentford in the first round of the 2023-2024 English Premier League (EPL) at the G-Tech Community Stadium in Brentford, England, on Wednesday.
Son Heung-min, who was named Tottenham’s captain this season, is the second South Korean player to wear the captain’s armband in the EPL after Park Ji-sung of Queens Park Rangers (QPR).
After the departure of Kane, who was known in England as “the gun,” to Bayern Munich (Germany), there was a lot of anticipation about what Son would do as captain of Tottenham.
Son made an unsatisfactory ‘captain’s debut’.
Midway through the first half, when his team was up 1-0, he gave up the penalty that tied the game.
In the second 15 minutes, he had a great scoring chance on the left side of the goal area, but his finishing was poor.
More importantly, he was unable to make any long, energetic runs. Harry Kane, who had created space for him, seemed to be missing.
The British media was harsh on Son.
“Tottenham’s new captain, Son Heung-min, did not make as much of an impact as expected, conceding a penalty early on,” said Sky Sports.
“Unfortunately, South Korean superstar Son Heung-min did not have the best of starts after Cristian Romero’s header. He conceded a penalty in a clumsy attempt to stop Mathias Jensen.”
“Son Heung-min’s performance did not improve and he was substituted with 15 minutes left in the game. The question remains whether this is just a dip in his performance, or whether we are no longer seeing his ‘world-class’ form.”
The ratings weren’t good.
Football ratings site Footmob gave Son a 6.2 rating, the lowest of any starter.
Hoopscore.com gave Son a 6.1 rating, the second lowest on the team. Midfielder Oliver Skipp was the only player with a lower rating than Son, at 5.9. 먹튀검증