Skip to content

Heung-Min Son's consistent form at Tottenham in stats

COVER 2

Heung-Min Son has been in scintillating form since scoring Tottenham's equaliser against Stoke in December. We check the stats behind his consistency...

Harry Kane may have scored twice to extend his league tally to 20 goals during the 4-0 win over Everton at the weekend - but it was Son's goal, assist and deft touch for Spurs' fourth that earned him the man-of-the-match accolade.

Live Nissan Super Sunday

In the past, Son has produced one-off performances that dazzled, but the 25-year-old has now shone in three of his last four league outings.

Heung-Min Son celebrates after giving Tottenham a first half lead

Son scored and assisted twice during a 5-2 win over Southampton, netted Spurs' equaliser during a 1-1 draw against West Ham on New Year's Day, before scoring and assisting in the Everton goal fest on Saturday.

Son's stats by season, PL

Season Goals (per 90mins) Assists (per 90mins)
2015/16 4 (0.33) 1 (0.08)
2016/17 14 (0.61) 6 (0.26)
2017/18 8 (0.52) 4 (0.26)

So has he finally found the consistency to be considered a key figure in the Tottenham supporting cast to Kane, alongside established duo Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli?

GAME TIME & FORM

The South Korean joined Tottenham for £18m from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2015 but failed to make an impact in his first season at White Hart Lane.

Last season, Son burst from the blocks, though, stepping up his levels while Kane was out injured. He scored a goal on his first start of the campaign during a 4-0 demolition over Stoke and found the net again a fortnight later in a 2-1 win against Middlesbrough.

Also See:

But Son's performances dipped following that result, as did his minutes on the pitch. He hit form again at the end of the season, scoring in a 4-0 win over Watford and helping his side smash then-reigning champions Leicester 6-1 at the King Power.

Heung-Min Son celebrates with Dele Alli and Harry Kane after scoring against Everton at Wembley Stadium

This season, Son opened his league account during a 4-1 win over Liverpool at Wembley in October and converted the match-winning goal against Crystal Palace in November.

Son kicked off his current goal streak with an equaliser at Watford in December and, since that game, has six goals and four assists from nine outings.

As testament to his performances, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has placed growing faith in Son - using him in 32 per cent of league games in 2015/16, 60 per cent last season and 70 per cent this term.

MNS

As a result, Son has come to the fore and, according to the Sky Sports Power Rankings, is currently on an unprecedented run of consistently strong form.

FORM

POSITIONAL

During 2015/16, Pochettino deployed Son on both wings, primarily on the right, and as a centre forward - with his average activity producing hot spots along the edge of the opposition's box.

However, the Argentine shifted Son primarily to the left wing for 2016/17, and his average activity has remained consistent since.

Since the shift, Son has typically operated down the left-hand third of the opposition's half. The graphic below shows Son's activity in each season - with 'activity' representing any player action on the pitch.

GRAPHIC

In terms of on-the-ball events, the graphic below shows how Son's average position has been more centralised than his overall activity, suggesting he collects the ball in central positions but spreads defences by running wide.

POS

Distance covered & sprints, PL, 2017/18

Player Km covered per 90 Sprints per 90
Son 10.5 62.3
Kane 10.1 41.7
Eriksen 12.2 62.1
Alli 11.9 78.5

ATTACK STATS

Son has surpassed Eriksen and Alli across a raft of attacking stats this season, per 90 minutes, including dribbles completed, goals, goals from outside the box, touches in the opposition's box and shots on target.

RADAR

Son, Eriksen & Alli stats, PL, 2017/18, per 90 mins

Stat Son Eriksen Alli
Goals 0.52 0.27 0.24
Goals (outside box) 0.13 0.05 0.05
Shots on target 1.23 1.14 0.54
Assists 0.26 0.27 0.34
Chances created 1.74 2.52 2.15
Dribbles completed 2.52 0.73 1.08
Touches in opp box 6.72 2.66 5.04
Passes 37.67 62.4 36.98
Duels won 4.52 3.16 5.97

Spurs have scored 24 goals since December - more than league leaders City - and Son has been involved in 10 of those.

In addition, Son ranks 11th in the Premier League for being involved in a passage of play that ends with a goal scored - defined by Opta as open play goal-ending sequences' - having been involved in 1.1 per game, on average.

GRAPHIC

So should Son now be considered a key part of the Tottenham attack? The stats suggest he probably should, after becoming a match-winning figure.

Watch Southampton v Tottenham live on Sky Sports Premier League from 3.30pm on Sunday

Super 6 £1m jackpot
Super 6 £1m jackpot

Simply predict six correct scores to win Jeff's £1 million. Enter your selections for free here.