With two Man of the Match (MOTM) honors, two goals, and one assist in October, is Son Heung-min in the running for Player of the Month?
Tottenham defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 in the 10th round of the 2023-24 Premier League (PL) season at Selhurst Park in London, England, on Oct. 28 at 4 a.m. ET. With the win, Spurs, unbeaten in their opening 10 games, moved to 26 points and opened up a five-point gap at the top of the table.
After a 0-0 first half, Tottenham broke the deadlock in the second half. Spurs conceded an own goal eight minutes into the second half when Joel Ward failed to clear a cross from James Maddison and headed the ball into his own net. With a precarious 1-0 lead, head coach Enze Postecoglou pulled out his substitution card. In the 19th minute of the second half, he brought on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Johnson for Yves Bissouma and Khirsalisson.
The substitutions paid off immediately. In the 21st minute, Pape sent a long pass down the left flank. Johnson sent a header forward. After receiving the ball back in half-space through Madsen, Johnson cut back. Son Heung-min was on hand to finish with aplomb for his eighth goal of the season.
Despite conceding a late goal in stoppage time, Tottenham held on for a 2-1 London derby victory. With the win, Spurs remain unbeaten in their opening 10 games and extend their lead atop the table to five points over second place.
Son Heung-min has now scored 111 goals in the PL. This puts him in 24th place on the all-time list, ahead of Emil Heskey, who was tied with 110 goals. He is now tied with Sadio Mane and Dion Dublin. He closed the gap on 23rd-place Ian Wright (113) to two goals and is now seven goals behind Raheem Sterling (118). He is also nine goals behind 21st-place Steven Gerrard (120).
He needs two more goals to reach double figures for the eighth consecutive season. He has already reached double figures in the league for seven consecutive seasons. Only Michael Owen, Romelu Lukaku, Jamie Vardy, and Robbie Keane have scored double figures in the PL for seven consecutive seasons. Sadio Mane, Thierry Henry (8 seasons), Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero (9 seasons), Frank Lampard (10 seasons) and Wayne Rooney (11 seasons) have also scored double-digit goals in eight or more seasons.
In his eight seasons at Tottenham, Son has scored 111 goals and provided 53 assists. In terms of assists, Son is tied for 42nd on the list with Robin van Persie, Emile Heskey, and Leighton Baines. He has surpassed Roberto Firmino (50) and needs just one more to equalize with Mesut Özil, Eden Hazard, Jordan Henderson, and Juan Mata.
Son Heung-min has been named MOTM twice in October. Son was named MOTM for the Tottenham vs. Palace match, as announced by the PL office. Heung-min received 60.8% of the vote. He beat out the likes of Maddison (26.6%) and Christian Romero (4.8%). Son was also named MOTM in his last match against Fulham, where he scored a goal and provided an assist.
However, he will have a tougher time winning the PL Player of the Month for October. Heung-min scored two goals and provided one assist in three games in October. However, there is a player who scored four goals in two games in October. That’s Mohamed Salah. Salah scored four goals in two games, including a multi-goal performance against 스포츠토토 Brighton and two against Everton. He still has a game in hand against Nottingham Forest, so there’s still time for him to score more.
Son Heung-min was the star of September. His six goals in September alone earned him the September PL Player of the Month award. It was his fourth award in total. He won his first PL Player of the Month award in September 2016-17 and his second in April of the same season. He won it again in October 2020-21, making it three seasons in a row. This time around, however, he’ll have a tougher time winning the award due to Salah’s performance.