da 888casino： Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-Min was struggling to get into the team at the start of the season with manager Mauricio Pochettino sometimes favouring Moussa Sissoko in the 4-2-3-1 system, while there was no place for him in a 3-4-2-1 formation either with Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane the undoubted first-choice front three.
da stake casino： The South Korea international only started two of their opening seven Premier League matches this term, before he finally got off the mark in terms of goalscoring against Borussia Dortmund in Spurs’ opening Champions League group game in September.
The 25-year-old really started to find form at the end of October and into November with goals in wins against Crystal Palace and Liverpool in the top flight, as well as another against Dortmund in Europe and two assists in a 3-2 defeat against West Ham United in the League Cup.
Son began December by scoring in the 1-1 draw against Watford, and he found the net against Stoke City and Brighton and Hove Albion in their subsequent Premier League matches to continue his good form, while he also netted against Apoel Nicosia in the Champions League once again.
The attacker then scored three goals and provided a further three assists in four top flight fixtures across the festive period and into the New Year, before he embarked on a run of six matches in all competitions without finding the score-sheet.
It seemed as though Son was struggling for form and had suffered a slight loss of confidence, and Pochettino decided to take him out of the limelight by relegating him to the substitutes’ bench for the trip to Palace last month – where he came on for 10 minutes.
The South Korean failed to return to the starting line-up for the Champions League last 16 first leg tie against Juventus either as Erik Lamela was preferred in the side, although once again he did make a short cameo from the bench.
While it wasn’t a huge rest, it seemed to have worked in both giving the 25-year-old a rest, and encouraging him to get to his best in order to try and keep his spot in the XI on a regular basis.
Pochettino restored Son into the team for the FA Cup fifth round replay against League One strugglers Rochdale at Wembley – where he scored twice and assisted one – and he has netted all three of their goals since that game – two in the 2-0 win against Huddersfield Town at Wembley and one in the 2-1 defeat against Juventus at Wembley on Wednesday that saw Tottenham eliminated from Europe’s elite club competition, receiving high praise from his own supporters as a result.
The South Korea international is now Spurs’ form attacking midfielder, with both Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli not hitting the heights they have previously.
Alli has no goals and just the one assist in his last seven starts for the north London outfit – with Tottenham fans losing patience with him back in January – while Eriksen has one goal and one assist on the six previous occasions he has been named in the XI.
With Lamela, Sissoko and Lucas Moura all available to play in those three positions behind Kane, there is no reason why Pochettino can’t choose to take one of the duo out of the limelight for at least a couple of matches in order for them to have a rest and find their form again like Son did.
With their next two Premier League fixtures against Bournemouth and Swansea City – before they face Chelsea and Manchester City in the following three – it looks to be the perfect opportunity for the Argentine boss to work his magic and get two of his star players back in form for what is going to be an important run-in in their bid to finish in the top four in the top flight, as well as looking to win the FA Cup.
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