Modest Son steals show with goal of the season

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min celebrating after scoring his side's third goal in their 5-0 thrashing of Burnley on Saturday He took 12 seconds and 12 touches to cover 80m for his strike.
Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min celebrating after scoring his side's third goal in their 5-0 thrashing of Burnley on Saturday He took 12 seconds and 12 touches to cover 80m for his strike. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON • In 12 seconds, with 12 touches and covering 80m, Son Heung-min scored what may be the Premier League's goal of the season for Tottenham on Saturday.

The South Korean forward's effort in the 32nd minute completely upstaged a brace from Harry Kane in a 5-0 rout of Burnley that drew gasps of admiration from his teammates and manager Jose Mourinho.

Picking up the ball on the edge of his own box, the recently-crowned Asian International Player of the Year accelerated away from two opponents, slalomed through two further challenges on the halfway line and outpaced two more before firing past Nick Pope for Spurs' third.

Lucas Moura and Moussa Sissoko were the other scorers on the day, but it was Son who received the most plaudits, even though in customary modest fashion, he claimed that it was only because he could not lay it off to Dele Alli.

"When I got the ball and tried to pass it to Dele, I couldn't find him so I just kept going. I am happy to score this goal," he said.

Kane later hailed the South Korean, claiming his wonder strike was well deserved given his usual unselfish play.

"Sonny stole the show today. An unbelievable goal, a great counter-attack," the England captain said. "All he wants to do is work hard and play for the team. He has great quality and works hard for the team."

Mourinho went even further, placing his strike in the same category as an equally brilliant goal by Brazil great Ronaldo.

The Portuguese said: "Even before this goal, my son calls him 'Sonaldo' and today, he was 'Sonaldo Nazario'. I remember when I was at Barcelona with Mr (Bobby) Robson and Ronaldo scored a goal that is similar to Son's.

"This was an amazing goal... The 'keeper is good but he managed to put it in. A perfect day.

"(Clarets boss) Sean Dyche is always honest and (he) told me after the game we were too good for them. I thank him for that."

Former England and Tottenham great Gary Lineker agreed with Mourinho, tweeting: "Wow. Son has just scored one of the greatest individual goals you're ever likely to see. Goal of the season, me thinks."

ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 09, 2019, with the headline Modest Son steals show with goal of the season. Subscribe