Son and Richarlison step up, end Spurs’ winless run in style

LONDON — Ange Postecoglou makes no secret of the fact that his football philosophy tests the faith of the players at his disposal. On Sunday, captain Son Heung-Min assured Tottenham's response was as emphatic as his manager could have hoped.

Spurs beat Newcastle 4-1 to end a five-game winless run that had raised questions about whether Postecoglou's attacking football, as exciting as it undeniably is, could ultimately deliver the success a club expects for 15 years and counting for the silverware has long desired. It's a familiar moment for Postecoglou, who claimed this week that such doubts had been cast in his previous roles, most recently at Celtic, insisting that “players have to go through it and come out the other side and see that 'OK, we “I survived this. It didn't kill us, we're still going, we're still alive, we're still up for it, right? “

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They were ready to do it here. Son made sure of victory, with two assists and a penalty to secure a victory over an injury-depleted Newcastle and bring Spurs to within three points of fourth-placed Manchester City.

“I thought Sonny was excellent, especially in the first half and really caused them problems by being positive. That kind of trickles down to the other guys,” Postecoglou said. “They see his authority in this area and they are inspired by it.

“Sonny set the tone. You rely on your leaders to take initiative. That's what you need to show leadership, and we were a lot more threatening in the final third.”

The South Korea international largely played as a center forward following Harry Kane's departure to Bayern Munich in the summer, but he started on the left here in one of several lineup adjustments, with Dejan Kulusevski as No.10 and Brennan Johnson out. the right. Postecoglou's number always leaves room for a drop and Spurs had their chance early on here, with Ben Davies producing a last-minute touch to divert an eighth-minute Anthony Gordon cross out of the path of Alexander Isak while the Swedish striker seemed certain. to open the score.

From there, Tottenham struck first, as they have done in each of their last six matches, and it was Son who came out on top. He was relentless in his pursuit of Newcastle defender Kieran Trippier, securing two brilliant assists in the opening 38 minutes which were just the reward for another scintillating attacking display.

First, Son took a quick step into the box to create space away from Trippier and his delivery found Destiny Udogie inside the six-yard box to score her first goal for the club. The goal was a classic example of Postecoglou's risk-reward approach. Udogie operates nominally at left-back, but here he was exchanging passes with Son before arriving as a striker to convert from close range.

When Pep Guardiola was asked earlier this month to respond to Postecoglou's joke that his style is simply imitating the City manager, he said: “I would say my full-backs go inside, but their full-backs go into the pockets. They're attacking midfielders. “I've never seen it before. I've never used this. It absolutely belongs to him. “

So the first goal belonged to Postecoglou, a timely validation of his tactics, and it was a platform they would not relinquish this time. Son roasted Trippier again seven minutes before the break, leaving the England defender floundering as this time he allowed Richarlison to score just his third league goal for the club since signing from Everton for £60 million in July 2022.

Even while winning eight of his first 10 matches, Postecoglou regularly claimed that his lack of efficiency in front of goal resulted in his inability to maximize the benefits of his aggressive attack; What a boost it would be if Sunday marked a permanent return to form for the Brazilian. His second goal provided further encouragement, Richarlison collecting Pedro Porro's excellent angular pass to control and finish past Martin Dúbravka.

Son won an 85th-minute penalty which he then converted – the first Spurs player other than Kane to score from a spot-kick since Dele Alli did so in August 2021 – before Joelinton struck a consolation in the stoppage time for a Newcastle team depleted by injuries. and tired from a grueling schedule.

The current state of Newcastle should limit enthusiasm for Tottenham's performance, but it is nonetheless a result – achieved, let's not forget, despite several Spurs absentees – which puts Postecoglou and his team back on a positive path ahead the busy Christmas schedule. Pape Matar Sarr started his first match since November 11, Richarlison had to wait even longer (October 27) to return from groin surgery, while Son survived a back scare suffered against West Ham in middle of the week.

“We're trying to build something here and part of that is going through the tough times, to not give the guys too much leeway in terms of excuses,” Postecoglou said. “But the reality is, in retrospect, I was probably too hard on them, but we were decimated. [by injury] after the Chelsea match. And it's no coincidence that now that we're getting some players back, we're starting to look a lot stronger.”

As the match approached stoppage time, Son passed the captain's armband to Romero and left the field to a standing ovation, his job done for another afternoon. Postecoglou embraced him with a warm hug on the touchline, a symbol of players and manager once again in sync.