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| APYonhap News |
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| APYonhap News |
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Son Heung-min (33, Tottenham) successfully returned to the ground with about 10 days left before the long-awaited Europa League (UEL) final. Son Heung-min, who missed a month and eight games due to a foot injury suffered in the first leg of the 2024-2025 UEL quarterfinals against Frankfurt on April 11, was included in the replacement list in the 36th round of the English Premier League (EPL) against Crystal Palace at home Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the 11th (Korea time), and took the ground when he was replaced by fullback Pedro Porro in the 13th minute of the second half. With the team losing consecutive points to Eberechi Eze in the 45th minute of the first half and the 3rd minute of the second half, Son Heung-min, who was put in, actively traveled around the opponent's camp for about 32 minutes. Son Heung-min told Sports Chosun after the game that he was able to return faster than expected due to the help and sacrifice of those around him"It's important to have a good time with the players and a hard time together. I was so happy to be able to spend time with my team members again today", he expressed his feelings.
In an atmosphere where the lead has already been handed over to Palace, there was not much that striker Son Heung-min could do. In the 44th minute of the second half, the only shot of the day inside the penalty box was blocked by a defensive wall and was ineffective. Tottenham lost 0-2 on the day. Media 'ESPN' was terrible for Tottenham in the EPL round review. It could have been lost to Palace by a bigger margin', before pointing out that this was Tottenham's 20th league defeat of the season. Tottenham, which had 36 points, fell one more place to 17th place as West Ham (40 points) beat Manchester United (39 points) 2-0 on the same day. 17th place is the lowest except for Ipswich Town, 18th place, Leicester City, 19th place, and Southampton, 20th place, which have been confirmed to have an early drop. Son Heung-min, who wore a Tottenham uniform in 2015 after playing for Germany's Hamburg and Leverkusen, has never fallen below 8th in the EPL so far. The lowest ranking throughout his career was 15th in Hamburg in the 2011-2012 season, his early professional years. With four losses in the last five games, there is nothing strange about finishing 17th or 16th this season.
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| APYonhap News |
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Tottenham, which had lost hope in the league early due to severe slump throughout the season, gained the only income from the game on the day was Son Heung-min's successful return without a recurrence of injury. Son Heung-min, who participated in his 332nd individual EPL match and became the first Korean to enter the double-digit number of matches (joint 98th), is determined to welcome Tottenham's season and perhaps Son Heung-min's later career in his best condition by raising his sense of play in the 37th round of the EPL away match against Aston Villa on the 17th. Son Heung-min said, `I have to do what I have to do. I want to focus on the most important game by raising my physical condition" did not hide his expectations for the UEL final.
Tottenham, which beat Bowdo (Norway) in the semifinals to reach the final, will face Manchester United of the same EPL in Bilbao, Spain on the 22nd for the Europa title. Tottenham, which won the UEL twice in 1972 and 1984, will try to win its third championship in 41 years. Son Heung-min, who has been runner-up in the EPL, Carabao Cup (League Cup), and European Champions League (UCL) so far, will try again to win his first career championship. Locally, the final match between Tottenham, ranked 17th in the EPL, and Manchester United, ranked 16th, which lost to West Ham with the same score as Tottenham on the same day, is called 'El Clownico'. It is a combination of the words 'Clown' and 'El Clasico' which means clown. It is an expression that it is as ridiculous as a clown that two teams with the worst performance in the league face off in the UEL final, and one of the two teams wins a UCL ticket next season. No matter how ridiculed, the winning team will get wealth, honor, and a UCL ticket for next season.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
