Son shines above all the rest
Making his first appearance for Tottenham Hotspur this season, Heung-Min Son managed to get his name on the scoresheet twice before adding an assist to highlight the strength in depth Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has at his disposal.
Having missed a part of pre-season preparations due to Olympic duty with South Korea, Son opened the scoring just before half time following some excellent work from Christian Eriksen, the Dane fresh from signing a new contract.
The opening goal came minutes after Stoke City boss Mark Hughes was sent to the stands by referee Anthony Taylor following his angry response to a Marko Arnautović booking for an alleged dive.
With Hughes absent from the touchline for the entirety of the second half, Tottenham continued to move up the gears, picking the hosts off at will as Son expertly curled in both his and Tottenham’s second, once again following good build up play involving Eriksen.
The contest was effectively put to bed when an incisive break-away following a Stoke corner ended up with Dele Alli scoring his first of the season as he swept in a Kyle Walker cross past veteran goalkeeper Shay Given in the Potters net.
The icing on the cake came when Son this time turned provider as his pass across goal found Harry Kane unmarked at the back post. Following a difficult start to the season, last season’s golden boot winner opened his account this time around to score his fiftieth Premier League goal for Tottenham.
“…we fully deserved the result.”
Following the second 4-0 victory over Stoke at the Bet 365 stadium in succession, Tottenham’s Argentinian coach was quick to point out he was “no genius” having once again come away from one of the Premier League’s most difficult venues with another three points.
On the performance itself, the former Southampton manager admitted his side “started the game a little sloppy” but managed to turn it around “after 15 or 20 minutes”.
Reflecting on the performance of Son, who was linked with a move away from White Hart Lane in the summer, Pochettino was understandably “very happy for him” and “very pleased with his performance” as he came in for the rested Erik Lamela.
Having managed to take eight points from a possible twelve so far this season, going four games unbeaten in the process, Pochettino claimed it is still important to “take it step by step and to show character”.
“I want to score goals for Spurs…”
Having finally reached the fifty goal milestone in just his 87th Premier League appearance, Tottenham academy product Kane admitted it was “a great achievement” but won’t stop the handwork now as it makes him “even hungrier to get to that next mark.”
Matches coming thick and fast
With Tottenham looking back to their scintillating best from last season, they will be hoping this is just the start as they welcome AS Monaco to Wembley in their first UEFA Champions League fixture with over 80,000 Tottenham fans expected to make it the highest attendance in British European history.