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Tottenham failed to utilize the front line even though it led the game


If I didn't pay attention, I wondered if Son Heung-min had played the game. As such, Tottenham Hotspur clearly took the lead in the game, but failed to take advantage of the front line and lost a decisive opportunity.

Tottenham faced a come-from-behind defeat of 1-2 at a home game against West Ham in round 15 of the 2023-2024 English Premier League (EPL) held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, the U.K., at 5:15 a.m. on the 8th (Korea time). Son started the game and played until the 42nd minute of the second half, but failed to score an offensive point.

In the 11th minute of the first half, Pedro Pororo's right-footed kick from Tottenham's right corner flew in from the gate and scored a header to take a 1-0 lead.

After finishing the first half with a 1-0 lead, Tottenham faced off at the counterattack by West Ham in the seventh minute of the second half when Mohamed Kudus' left-footed mid-range shot hit the Tottenham defense and fell in front of Jerod Bowen's foot, who was rushing to the gate. At a no-mark opportunity, Bowen didn't miss this opportunity and fired with his right foot, and goalkeeper Guillermo Gugliemo, who was caught in a dynamic play, failed to block and tied the game 1-1. Unfortunate loss.

In the 29th minute of the second half, Tottenham allowed a come-from-behind goal due to a fatal defensive error. Destiny Udogi's back pass to the goalkeeper turned into a complete pass miss, and goalkeeper Gugliemo Vicario came out to blow his body and blocked it first, but West Ham's James Ward-Frouse ran and kicked the ball back into the empty net after the shot, allowing a 1-2 turnaround.

For sure, Tottenham seemed to have led the game and done a good job. Just by looking at its 77 percent ball possession rate in the first half, 13 shots and five shots on goal, West Ham had no choice but to give the impression that it was just defending throughout the 90 minutes.

The problem was that it was a pass that only turned around without a single critical shot. As West Ham defended so tightly and lined up defense in and out of the box, it was not easy for front-line striker Son Heung-min to catch the ball. Even if midfielders caught the ball outside the box, the ball was not put into the front until Son Heung-min.

However, the only shot he made was 87 minutes running because his right-footed mid-range shot just outside the arc circle was not properly impactful, which he hit with a pass from Dejan Kulusevski in the 16th minute of the first half.

As the team failed to make an attack in the second half, Son frequently came down to the sides and bottom to participate in the deployment of the team's offense, and Coach Enzi Postecoglou also felt a problem and deployed striker Hishalisson to seek a reversal. However, West Ham scored a lucky first goal and successfully scored the second goal without missing the opponent's mistake, resulting in the result.

Even if Tottenham led the game, West Ham, who did not miss the opportunity to take advantage of the front line in the end, took the "result."