Crystal Palace manager heaps praise on one Spurs player after 4-0 battering

Tottenham Hotspur may have started the new Premier League season in third gear, but they were certainly at top speed yesterday against Crystal Palace.

For the first time this year, Spurs came out the blocks at lightning speed, immediately setting the tempo and making a statement to the Palace defence.

After one missed chance in the opening minutes, Heung Min Son did not make the same mistake again when Alderweireld played him in over the top.

The winger collected the ball coolly, before cutting inside with a fake shot and dragging his finish into the near post, wrong-footing the keeper.

Son added to his tally a little later in the first half when he expertly volleyed home from a Serge Aurier cross. He even fed Harry Kane to set up the fourth goal too.

However, it wasn’t just his offensive work rate that caught the eye, Crystal Palace manager, Roy Hodgson, was also impressed with how Sonny tracked back even in the dying minutes.

Hodgson said (Football London): “I have to say Son’s performance in the first half was outstanding. It was also interesting in the last minutes of the game he was the one sprinting back into position to try and stop us score a goal.

“I can’t speak for Mauricio Pochettino, but if I had a player do what Son did today I would be really delighted. Luckily for Tottenham, they don’t just have the one, they have several players who have goals in them and who have great passing ability.

“I thought technically they were very good and the two centre-backs, the quality of their passing was really outstanding, but they probably won’t get too much credit for it because centre-backs don’t usually get credit for their passing ability.”

Spurs Web Opinion:

I have to agree with Roy on this one. Son is obviously one of Tottenham’s best attacking players, but the work he goes through in a match, both pressing high up the pitch and tracking back is underrated.

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