Substitute Son Heung-min scored a hat-trick for Tottenham as they thrash bottom-of-the-table Leicester to grasp 6 goals
Heung-min being dropped from the starting XI felt completely out of place. Nonetheless, Antonio Conte is a cold-hearted hunter with a trophy in his sights. Son didn’t measure up and paid the consequence. Then came the redemption: Son came on and scored an incredible hat-trick with breath-taking goals in 13 minutes to ensure a game that was still in the balance was won decisively and, suddenly, all was well with the world.
Except Conte was not in the mood for apologies, explanations, or fairy tales. This is how it is at the new Spurs, he explained. Become accustomed to it.
When Son entered the field on 59 minutes, Tottenham was leading 3-2 and you could see his poor form was coming to an end.
Leicester, who were bottom of the table by a point, had previously shown the kind of defense that would have given hope to any Sunday League attacker, let alone a player of Son’s caliber. Sure enough, he’d find them in a giving mood.
So when Rodrigo Bentancur, who was outstanding in this match, stripped them of possession and lofted an appealing pass into Son’s path on 74 minutes, you didn’t have to be a divine mystic to predict what was going to happen.
As Jonny Evans and Wout Faes retreated in confusion, Son began his shuffling dash. He assessed his choices as he approached the penalty box and chose the far right corner, sending his shot twisting and dipping. Danny Ward had no chance at all.
Because of the relief roar, the stadium almost took off. Son just stood there for a second, taking it all in before being swarmed by teammates. There was a reason for his calm demeanor. Of course, he had only just begun.
On 85 minutes, Harry Kane sent him in, and he curled in his second in the other corner from outside the area, another spectacular strike. Pierre Emile Hojbjerg passed him in on 87 minutes, and Son pushed forward, striking the ball into Ward with enough force to see it enter the net despite the goalkeeper’s touch.
The twist occurred when an offside flag was hoisted. Cue the booing. This was not the script we were looking for. The director, of course, was not having it. VAR saw sense, and the hat trick was preserved. It had taken him 13 minutes to shred Leicester and demonstrate his superiority to the rest of the world.
Leicester played well at times, most notably James Maddison’s magnificent 42-yard check equalizer for 2-2, a sumptuous finish from Timothy Castagne’s cross.
To suggest Leicester are awful at defending set pieces, however, is an understatement. They appear absolutely incapable of protecting set pieces, to put it mildly.