"Relegation will never happen."
Tottenham Hotspur achieved their third consecutive win in the Premier League by defeating Ipswich Town 4-1 in the 26th round of the 2024-2025 season at Portman Road in England on the 23rd (Korean time). Son Heung-min's consecutive assists and Brennan Johnson's multi-goals played a crucial role.
As a result, Tottenham is in 12th place with 33 points (10 wins, 3 draws, 13 losses), while Ipswich remained in 18th place. Son Heung-min started as a left winger and showed active play from the beginning of the match. In the 12th minute of the first half, after getting past the defense with a trick, he made an accurate cutback pass to Berryval, but the shot was blocked by the goalkeeper, missing an opportunity to score.
In the 18th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min calmly made a cross to Johnson inside the box, and Johnson finished it off, scoring the opening goal. Eight minutes later, in the 26th minute of the first half, Johnson scored again after receiving a pass from Son, completing his multi-goal. With this assist, Son recorded his 9th assist in the league, achieving 10 goals and 10 assists for the season.
Ipswich pulled one back in the 36th minute of the first half with a powerful shot from Hutchinson, but they failed to capitalize on additional scoring opportunities due to Vicario's series of saves. In the 15th minute of the second half, Ipswich shook the net during a set-piece situation, but the goal was disallowed due to an offside call.
In the 28th minute of the second half, Son Heung-min was substituted off with Tel, passing the captain's armband to Madison. After that, in the 32nd minute of the second half, Spence, receiving a pass from Madison, scored his first goal of the season, extending the gap to 3-1. Seven minutes later, Kulusevski added the fourth goal with a curling shot, sealing the victory.
Eight minutes of added time were given, but no further goals were scored, and the match ended with a 4-1 victory for Tottenham. In this match, Son Heung-min achieved 10 goals and 10 assists for the season, proving his value as a key player for the team. As captain, he has also demonstrated leadership, leading Tottenham's upward momentum.
After the match, 'Football London' published ratings for the Tottenham players. Son Heung-min received the highest score on the team with 9 points. Having played about 74 minutes in this match, Son recorded 2 assists, 3 shots, an 81% pass success rate, 3 chance creations, and 6 touches in the opposing box.
Football London praised Son Heung-min, saying, "He showed active movement from the beginning of the match and made a pass to Berryval to create a shooting opportunity. Shortly after, he utilized his dribbling skills to break past the wing and delivered a low cross to assist Johnson's goal. Before long, he moved into the center again, making an accurate pass to Johnson, recording another assist. In the second half, the opposing defense pressed harder and space became limited, but he still recorded two excellent assists."
Manager Ange Postecoglou expressed strong displeasure regarding discussions about Tottenham's relegation possibility. He said, "Honestly, I could tell from the beginning how ridiculous that notion was. Now, with 12 matches left, it looks safe to anyone, but people continue to talk about relegation."
He continued, "Mentioning relegation itself is a sort of hysterical reaction. And such reactions are meant to put pressure on me and the club."
Regarding the defeats in the FA Cup and League Cup, Manager Postecoglou stated, "Honestly, we tried, but it didn't go as we had hoped. It's not just the players' fault; it's a problem for all of us. The players did their best during that period," adding, "Clearly, the league ranking is unsatisfactory, but there is a possibility of resolving that."