Son Heung-min ends drought in Spurs’ rout of Crystal Palace

Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean star Son Heung-min has found the back of the net for the first time in nine Premier League matches.

Son scored off his left foot in the 72nd minute of Spurs’ 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in London on Wednesday (local time).

Son now has four goals in 16 matches in the league this season. He had scored in only one other match this season, with a hat trick against Leicester City in September.

This has been a down season for Son, who tied Mohamed Salah of Liverpool for the Premier League scoring title with 23 goals in the 2021-2022 campaign. It made Son the first Asian player to grab the Golden Boot.

The ongoing season has also been marred by a serious facial injury. Son suffered multiple fractures around his left eye in a collision with an opposing player during a UEFA Champions League match on Nov. 1. The injury forced Son to don a protective facial mask for all four South Korean matches at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar from late November to early December.

Son ditched his mask midway through the first half of Tottenham’s previous match against Aston Villa, but he had it on again at the start of this match against Crystal Palace.

But after scoring Spurs’ final goal in the breezy win, Son once again took off his facial gear in celebration.

Son said in a postmatch interview that the goal lifted some weight off his shoulders.

“It felt amazing. It was about time,” Son told Sky Sports. “To be honest, I felt really sorry for the team because I think they expected more than what I had been doing. So I think today could be a turning point to get back confidence and on the score sheet again. I want to continue to help the team.”

With just their second win in the past five matches, Tottenham remained in fifth place at 33 points from 10 wins, three draws and five losses. They’re two points behind Manchester United, who have a match in hand on Tottenham.

Tottenham scored all four goals in the second half, with Harry Kane netting one each in the 48th and 53rd minutes, and Matt Doherty chipping in one in the 68th.

Son joined the party four minutes after Doherty’s goal, as his left-footed shot from the center of the box found the bottom left corner.

Tottenham will next play Arsenal at home Sunday.