Tottenham draw 2-2 with Brentford
Wolverhampton beat Everton 2-1
▲ Son Heung-min is trying to break through in the 2022-2023 EPL Round 17 match between Tottenham and Brentford held at the G-Tech Community Stadium in Brentford, England on the 26th (local time).
Brentford Associated Press
The protagonists of the round of 16 of the 2022 Qatar World Cup played their first match in the English Professional Football Premier League (EPL). Tottenham Hotspur, with Son Heung-min wearing a mask, drew with Brentford, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Hwang Hee-chan as the starter, won a thrilling come-from-behind victory.
Son Heung-min, who started, played full-time in the EPL match for the first time since the 14th round against Bournemouth on October 29th. On the 2nd of last month, Son Heung-min suffered an orbital fracture during the group stage match between Marseille (France) and the European Football Association (UEFA) Champions League (UCL) and underwent surgery and focused on recovery. Earlier, on the 22nd, Son Heung-min, who warmed up by playing 16 minutes in a friendly match against Nice (France), played the game wearing a black mask to protect his face. Son Heung-min, who came forward with Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski, tried to break through several times, but failed to get an attack point.
Son Heung-min took a free kick from the front of the penalty arc in the 11th minute of the first half, and attempted shooting in the 25th and 30th minutes of the first half. In his midfield, he also showed off his skill, breaking through. Immediately after the game, WhoScored.com, a soccer statistics site, gave Son Heung-min a rating of 6.9, and Football London gave him 6 points.
▲ On the 26th (local time), Wolverhampton’s Hwang Hee-chan plays an away game against Everton.
Everton Archyde.com Yonhap News
Meanwhile, Wolverhampton, with Hwang Hee-chan as the starter, won an away game against Everton 2-1 thanks to Rayan Ait Nouri’s dramatic winning goal in extra time in the second half.
Coach Hulen Lopetegui, who took over as manager of Wolverhampton last month, recorded a victory in the first EPL game. Wolverhampton, who recently fell to the bottom of the league with a draw (1 draw, 4 losses) in 5 consecutive matches in the league, accumulated points in the first game after the World Cup and climbed to 18th place (13 points, 3 wins, 4 draws, 9 losses), raising the possibility of escaping the relegation zone.
Hwang Hee-chan, who started as a starter, played until he was replaced by Adama Traore in the 15th minute of the second half of the day, but could not raise the attack point. Hwang Hee-chan has scored one goal in 12 EPL matches this season. WhoScored.com gave Hwang Hee-chan a rating of 6.0 after the game. This is the lowest score along with Maximilian Kilman among the starting players. Ait Nuri, who was substituted and scored the winning goal, scored the highest 7.5 points, and Podens, who scored the equalizer, scored 7.3 points.
Reporter Kim Dong-hyun