FOOTBALL

Heung-min Son: The Most Underrated Player In The Premier League?

Published

2 years ago

October 2, 2022

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Heung-min Son is an elite forward.

The Tottenham ace has scored 134 goals for his club and set up 75 more since arriving in England.

But he barely gets the recognition he deserves for his consistent brilliance over the years.

In the 21/22 Premier League season, he scored 23 non-penalty goals.

But that was not enough to get him a place in the PFA Team of the Year. Sounds harsh, doesn’t it?

Son’s phenomenal numbers

How good has the South Korea international been for Tottenham?

His numbers rival the likes of Eden Hazard and Sadio Mane, who were widely regarded as one of the best in the trade during their Premier League tenure.

Let’s compare the stats of Hazard, Mane, and Son in their first seven Premier League campaigns to understand how similar their performances are in the English top flight.

	Matches	Goals	Assist
Eden Hazard (2012-19)	245	85	54
Sadio Mane (2014-2021)	229	95	36
Heung-min Son (2015-2022)	232	93	46

As numbers indicate, these three players have been a neck-and-neck race.

But, Son does not get the level of acclaim Hazard and Mane did for their Premier League careers.

His lack of silverware could be a reason, but he did not set a foot wrong on an individual level.

So, it feels rather inconsiderate to write off his personal excellence because of his team’s barren run.

Heung-min Son does have his limitations, but which player doesn’t?

He is not the best pick to operate in tight spaces as he centers his game around running into empty pockets and exposing the opposition backline.

His inability to navigate tight spaces did not impede his effectiveness as a lethal attacker. So, that’s not much of a big issue.

Son vs Salah

In the 21/22 season, Son shared the Premier League Golden Boot with Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah.

Both players scored 23 goals to rise to the summit of the Premier League scoring chart.

But Son did it without scoring a single penalty.

Salah, on the other hand, scored from the spot on five occasions.

Son also had a superior conversion rate than his Egyptian counterpart. The Tottenham number seven had a conversion rate of 27% in 21/22, while Salah’s conversion rate was 13% in the same season.

That means Salah had to take more than twice as many shots as Son had to take in 21/22 to score.

Regardless, Salah made it into the Ballon d’Or debate, while Son could not even make it to the PFA Team of the Year.

Amazing consistency

It’s not as if Son had a tremendous one-off season.

He has been a consistent performer for the Lillywhites since he joined Tottenham Hotspur from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015.

Apart from his first season, Son has outperformed his xG in all the seasons he played for Tottenham Hotspur. Even in that first season, he matched his xG. This proves how extraordinarily clinical he has been for the North London outfit.

He is also comfortable taking shots in both feet.

As of writing, he has scored 96 Premier League goals. 41% of them came from his left foot and he scored 55% with his right.

Son has a variety of finishing abilities under his belt. We have seen him cruising through a sea of defenders before rattling the back of the net. He also took goalkeepers by surprise by hitting the target out of nowhere.

Son is a Puskás award winner, which validates his penchant for scoring breathtaking goals.

Heung-min Son has performed on par with some of the best forwards in the world.

But his name does not come up often while discussing the top players.

Maybe moving to a European powerhouse will help him step into the limelight.

FOOTBALL

WATCH: Georgina Rodriguez makes huge claim on Cristiano Ronaldo’s retirement in Football

Published

2 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Georgina Rodriguez made a huge claim on the future of her husband and star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, in Football. In a brief interaction with a host recently, Rodriguez was asked about the time left for Cristiano to make an impact at the highest level. Georgina looked honest in her approach to the question of the host and claimed something the fans would not love to hear.

Georgina claimed that the Portugal star has maybe one year more from him at the highest level. She felt that Ronaldo might play two more years before retiring and not more than that. She was however not sure if he would play for just one or two years and added that the Al Nassr star could also play more than that.

Watch the video of Georgina Rodriguez here –

🚨🎙️| Georgina Rodriguez on Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Paris Fashion Week yesterday:

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know.”

(via @ArobaseGiovanny)pic.twitter.com/4dxw2j5DuC

— Pubity Sport (@pubitysport) March 3, 2024

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know,” said Rodriguez in the little chat she had with the host. The video has gone viral on X and the fans have started sharing it on different platforms. Some of the fans feel that Georgina might be right, while others feel that she could be wrong, given the fitness and longevity of the star player.

Legacy of Cristiano Ronaldo

On the 5th of February, Ronaldo celebrated his 39th birthday. He is currently one of the oldest players in the world. In the past, players at this age would have retired way back. But the fitness and consistency of Ronaldo make him play the sport as long as he wishes. In his career so far, Ronaldo has won many major leagues for Portugal and league teams like Real Madrid, Al Nassr, and Manchester United.

With United, Portugal won some major leagues like the FA Cup and the Champions League. With Real Madrid, the 39-year-old won the leagues like the UCL, Copa Del Rey and La Liga. He won it three consecutive times for Real Madrid. For Portugal, Cristiano had a huge contribution to Portugal. He has the most number of appearances and goals for an international team and won the Euro 2016 with Portugal.

FOOTBALL

Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham slapped with Red Card as he argued with referee

Published

2 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Jude Bellingham shown Red Card (Image Credit: Twitter)

England and Real Madrid player Jude Bellingham was slapped with a Red Card during the La Liga game against Valencia. In the game, the home team, Valencia was leading by 2-0 after 30 minutes before Madrid scored in the injury time of the first half. Vinicius Junior opened the scoring for Madrid while Hugo Duro (27′) and Roman Yaremchuk (30′) scored a goal each.

In the 76th minute, Junior scored an equalizer to keep the team in the game. However, in the injury time of the second half, Bellingham was given a red card as he argued with the referee against calling it a full-time before he could score. In reply, the match official decided to slap the England international with a Red Card. The team coach Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t happy with the verdict as the Three Lions player was making a pass at the time.

Jude Bellingham verbally abusing officials and other footballers at the slightest provocation needs to be talked about more. It’s embarrassing he gets applauded by Real Madrid Fans.

Mason Greenwood should’ve allowed La Liga to deal with this simp. pic.twitter.com/ixYSw6YxaC

— Herman Facundo© (@hermanfacundo_7) March 3, 2024

“I think what’s just happened is unprecedented. It’s never happened to me,” Ancelotti told reporters.

“We had possession of the ball and the match should have been finished when Valencia had the ball.

“What bothers us is the red card for Bellingham because he didn’t say anything insulting. He was frustrated of course,” said Ancelotti, adding that Bellingham had used a common English swearword when telling the referee it was a goal.

We are annoyed with Jude Bellingham’s Red Card: Carlo Ancelotti

“We were annoyed with Bellingham’s red card. He didn’t say any insults. He said in English ‘it’s a f—ing goal,’ but he was just saying what we were all thinking … [The referee] allowed play to continue. I think he made a mistake.”

“[Bellingham] was clear in what he said,” Ancelotti added. “He was quite vehement [in his reaction] but that’s normal, after what happened. It wasn’t an insult, not at all.”

FOOTBALL

PL 2023-24: MCFC vs MUFC Dream11 Prediction, Playing XI, Fantasy League Today’s Captain, Vice-Captain, and more for Manchester derby

Published

2 months ago

March 2, 2024

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Super Sunday is set to witness the Manchester Derby in the Premier League 2023-24. The match between Manchester City (MCFC) and Manchester United (MUFC) is set to take place in Etihad Stadium, the home ground of Manchester City. The two teams have had a contrasting journey in the league till now. The fortunes of City changed ever since Pep Guardiola took over the club as the manager.

While the home side are placed in the second position in the points table currently, United are in the sixth place in the points table. In their previous encounter, City hammered Luton Town by 6-2 in the FA Cup. United have shown massive improvements in the last few weeks after not having a good start to their campaign. United were involved in a thrilling game where they beat Nottingham Forrest by 1-0 in their last game.

Both teams feature some of the best players in the world. The likes of Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Marcus Rashford, Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, and others would be taking part in the match. Manchester City will start the match as the favourites, given their record in the ongoing league so far and the match taking place in their home. United with their improved record can challenge the home side.

MCFC vs MUFC – Match Details

Match – Manchester City (MCFC) vs Manchester United (MUFC), Premier League 2023-24

Venue – Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Date and Time – 3^rd March 2024, 21:00 IST

Live Coverage – Star Sports Network and Disney plus Hot Star

MCFC vs MUFC – Head-to-Head

Both the teams from Manchester have a rich history in the sport. they have been up against each other in 191 instances. In as many games, Manchester United have been historically the better side with 78 wins to their name. City have managed to win 60 wins, as 53 games ended in a draw. In the last five games between the two sides in the Premier League, City have won four of the five games.