
Son Heung-min returns to the frontline striker role for the first time in eight games to lead the team’s attack.
Tottenham Hotspur will host Crystal Palace in the 27th round of the 2023-24 Premier League (PL) season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on March 3 at 0:00 a.m. ET. Spurs are fifth in the league with 14 wins, five draws, and six losses (47 points), while Palace is 13th in the league with seven wins, seven draws, and 12 losses (28 points).
Ahead of the match, the starting lineup was revealed. Tottenham will start with Timo Werner, Heung-Min Son, Dejan Koulousevski, Yves Bissouma, James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Destiny Udoji, Micky van der Penn, Cristian Romero, Emerson Royal, and Guglielmo Viquirio in goal.
For Palace, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Jordan Ayew, Eberezi Eze, Adam Wotton, Hefersson Lerma, Tyrick Mitchell, Chris Richards, Joachim Andersen, Joel Ward, Daniel Muñoz, and Sam Johnstone will start.
Son Heung-min has been deployed in the frontline striker position for the first time in eight league games. That’s because he’s been sidelined with an injury. Speaking at the pre-match press conference a day ahead of the game, head coach Enze Postecoglou opened up about the injury situation: “I think he will be out for three to four weeks. He suffered a knee injury in the last game and will be out for a while.”
Luckily, Son Heung-min is the perfect replacement. Son Heung-min has been the team’s go-to striker this season under Postecoglou, showing off his ability as a frontline striker. When he struggled at the start of the season, Postecoglou pushed him up front.
It worked. Son used his pace to get behind the defense and create chances, while his ability to use both feet and his sharp shot trajectory began to rattle opposing nets. Heung-min’s first move to the front line was in September of last year, when he scored a hat trick against Burnley. Since then, Son has scored nine goals and provided two assists.
Despite his flourishing up front, Postecoglou moved him back to the left wing-forward position. This was because of his continued good form. Son continued to be a threat to opponents even when he moved to the left. He scored three goals and provided four assists after switching to the left wing forward position.
This is the first time in about three months that Son has been deployed up front. He has yet to score in a Tottenham shirt in 2024. He opened the scoring against Bournemouth on December 31st of last year, but then took a month off to play in the Asian Cup. Since his return, he has yet to score, although he did pick up his sixth assist of the season against Brighton. He will be looking for his first goal of the year against Palace.
What’s exciting is that Son is a Palace killer. Ahead of the clash with Palace, Tottenham posted on their website, “In a Tottenham shirt, Son Heung-min represents us. When we win, his famous smile appears, and when we lose, he is devastated. So it’s not surprising to look back at his reactions as he enters his ninth year at Tottenham, with 157 goals in 395 games. Two of them happened against Palace. “One of them immortalized his name as a Tottenham legend,” he said, recalling Son’s performance against Palace.
Son’s PL debut goal against Palace. “Son’s first PL goal had all the hallmarks of what we expect from him. Christian Eriksen delivered the ball in from the left at pace, Son sped into the penalty box, moved to the left of Brede Hangeland and struck the ball past Alex McCarthy at the near post, and it was powerful.” His debut goal came in September 2015.
After the game, Son said: “I’m really happy that we won and that I scored. Eriksen gave me the ball, I was one-on-one with the center back, and I shot with my left foot. Maybe I was lucky. It’s amazing. We worked hard, and I’m really happy to win. We really wanted to win this game, all the players worked hard and the fans were amazing,” he said.
“I’m really happy every day I train and play. The players are happy and really fun people. The staff are also good to me and help me every day. I’m happy because I play soccer. I’ve been playing in the best league in the world since I was a kid. I will give my best every game,” he added.
Son’s fond memories of Palace were rekindled three and a half years later. “Three and a half years later, Sonny was entering one of the most defining periods of his Tottenham career. By then, he had scored 63 goals in 177 appearances for us. Just two weeks later, he made history by scoring his first goal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and then scored three goals in the quarterfinals against Manchester City to take us to the UEFA Champions League (UCL) semifinals.”
“April 3, 2019 was the first game at our new home, and as it is inscribed on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium headstone, it was Son Heung-min who had the honor of scoring the first goal. Just as he did when he scored his first PL goal in 2015, Eriksen once again played the ball through, this time from the right side of the penalty box, where Son collected the ball and beat two defenders before slotting the ball into the bottom corner.”
For Son, Palace was the team that gave him his first PL goal and his first goal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
After scoring his first goal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Son said: “I’m proud of my teammates, the staff and the fans and I want to thank them for their amazing support, for giving me the opportunity to play in this incredible stadium. This makes me happy. I am the happiest man in the world. My first PL goal is a very special goal, but I think this is even more special since I joined Tottenham. Both goals mean a lot to me. I can’t choose one, it’s very difficult,” he said.