He has been criticized for his lack of goals and has asked fans to be ‘patient’ with him, while ‘captain’ Son Heung-min has supported him. Tottenham fans are also giving him the benefit of the doubt, saying his determination and work ethic are helping the team, but he needs time.
Tottenham Hotspur defeated Manchester United 2-0 in the second round of the 2023-24 English Premier League (EPL) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, at 1:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday. It was a great start for Tottenham, who recorded their first win of the league.
It was the biggest matchup of the second round. Both teams have been on fire offensively and scored plenty of goals whenever they’ve met, so expectations were high for this one. There was plenty to eat at the rumored feast. Both teams were on fire, entertaining the crowds in the stadium and all the fans watching the match. There were a whopping 39 shots on goal, according to soccer statistician Couchscore, and the fast-paced game threatened the opposing goal for the entire 90 minutes.
The victory belonged to Tottenham. After a 0-0 first half, Spurs took the lead in the fourth minute of the second half through Pape Sarr and made it 2-0 with an own goal from Lissandro Martinez in the 38th minute. They had a few scares in between, but Guglielmo Vicario’s brilliant saves and some help in the box secured the win.
Most of the players had a good game, with ‘Captain’ Son Heung-min focusing on playmaking and being a key part of the ball movement. He was first on the team in key passes, chances created, and more, and the Sofa Score gave him a 7.9, the second highest rating on the team. Pape Sarr was named Man of the Match (MOM) with an 8.5, while Vicario, who made a number of brilliant saves, also earned an 8.3. Pedro Foro, Micky van der Vaan, Christian Romero, Yves Bissouma, and James Maddison all received ratings of seven or higher.
However, the Frenchman was left disappointed. Starting as a frontline striker, he was once again held scoreless. He didn’t have a single shot on target before being substituted in the 70th minute, and his impact on the game was poor. CouchScore gave him a rating of 6.4. Even on the losing side, only Marcus Rashford had a lower rating than him.
Naturally, criticism was directed at him. Given that he was tasked with filling the void left by ‘ace’ Harry Kane, the demands were even greater, but the Frenchman insisted that fans should be patient.
After the game, he said: “I think the fans have to 스포츠토토 be patient. It’s not easy to replace a player like Kane. Whether I like it or not, whether I score a goal or not, they will miss him.” “I didn’t get the ball to shoot. The striker should have gotten the ball, and he was angry that he didn’t. It’s not because of the change of manager.”
“Kane has scored over 200 goals for Tottenham. Of course, my job is to score as many goals as possible for Tottenham. That’s why they brought me here. Now everything depends on me. I have to work hard and I know my responsibilities. We have been training and in training (I am) scoring goals. I think it’s only a matter of time before the goals start coming. I hope the fans will be patient,” he added.
Son Heung-min was also all over him. “Honestly, I can play left, right, and center, but I think he played really well in the center,” Son praised.
Tottenham fans are also willing to give him time. Spurs fan site Spurs Web wrote: “Son Heung-min defended his teammate and put his faith in the Brazilian. Of course, he hasn’t scored, but his hard work and determination are helping the team. The goals will come at some point.”
