95% passing, 4 chances created: 8/10 Spurs ace who outshone Kulu silenced the haters
With the Champions League out of reach, Tottenham Hotspur travelled up north to conclude the 2023/24 season against Sheffield United.
Ange Postecoglou will have demanded a victory, and they delivered, comfortably beating the already-relegated Blades 3-0.
In truth, it was the exact performance that the Australian boss had been looking for over the past month, with the Lilywhites having 75% possession, 18 attempts, and an xG of 3.28.
There were many standouts on the day, including Dejan Kulusevski, but one individual silenced all his critics with a wonderful display that outshone the Swede.
Dejan Kulusevski’s game vs Sheffield United
Having dropped to the bench against Manchester City earlier in the week, Kulusevski returned to the starting lineup to make his 36th appearance of the campaign.
The winger looked like a player with a point to prove, and from the first whistle, he “caused the hosts some real issues,” which is why Football.London handed him a 9/10 rating.
Throughout the game, the former Juventus ace was direct and confident, unleashing five shots, attempting four dribbles, and creating two chances.
However, it was his two goals either side of the break that helped Tottenham gather their three points, taking his tally to eight for the season, but despite being the match-winner, one player really stood out above the rest.
Heung-min Son silenced his critics
Facing critics as a Spurs player will be an unknown feeling for Heung-min Son, but in recent weeks, he’s been slightly underwhelmed by his extremely high standards.
The South Korean legend has only netted one open play goal in nine matches, with a poor miss against Manchester City taking most of the headlines this week.
However on Sunday, Son was back to his very best, returning to his role as the driving force behind the Spurs attack and inspiring a wonderful attacking performance.
Football.London rated Son an 8/10 for his performance, while Postecoglou should also get some credit for deploying the number 7 on the left of the attack rather than centrally.
| Son’s SHU Stats vs His 23/24 PL Average | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stats (per game) | SHU | 23/24 average |
| Chances created | 4 | 2.08 |
| xA | 0.44 | 0.25 |
| Shots | 2 | 2.60 |
| Touches (Att pen) | 8 | 6.93 |
| Duels won | 5 | 3.18 |
| Pass accuracy | 95% | 85.1% |
| Via FotMob | ||