Tottenham's Son Heung-min absence creates penalty confusion despite 3-1 win

Tottenham Hotspur was once again indecisive about its penalty kick taker. In the end, Brennan Johnson (24) earned a penalty kick but had to forfeit the chance for a hat trick, resulting in a farcical situation.

On the 6th (Korea time), Tottenham defeated Southampton 3-1 in the 31st round of the 2024-2025 Premier League (PL) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

With this victory, Tottenham rose to 14th place in the league with 37 points (11 wins, 4 draws, 16 losses), breaking a losing streak at home and creating a turning point ahead of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) quarterfinal first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt scheduled for midweek.

On the other hand, Southampton remained at 10 points (2 wins, 4 draws, 25 losses), confirming its relegation to the Championship (second division). Even if they win all remaining matches, they cannot catch 17th place Wolverhampton (32 points). Southampton will be dropped back to the second division immediately after being promoted this season.

Disgraceful records followed. With seven matches remaining, Southampton became the fastest team to confirm relegation in PL history. At this rate, they are at risk of breaking the minimum points record (11 points) set by Derby County in the 2007-2008 season.

Tottenham deployed a 4-3-3 formation. Son Heung-min, Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson, James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Vázquez, Jed Spence, Ben Davies, Cristian Romero, Pedro Porro, and Guglielmo Vicario started. With this match, Son Heung-min achieved his 450th appearance for Tottenham, ranking 7th in the club's all-time most appearances.

Southampton started in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Cameron Archer, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Mateusz Fernandes, Tyler Dibling, Joe Aribo, Leslie Ugochukwu, Ryan Manning, Taylor Howard-Bellis, Jan Bednarek, Kyle Walker-Peters, and Aaron Ramsdale formed the starting lineup.

Tottenham attacked fiercely from the start. In the 9th minute of the first half, Romero made a powerful header from a corner kick, but it was blocked by Ramsdale. In the 11th minute of the first half, Vázquez stirred up the opposing defense before shooting, but it did not connect properly.

Tottenham scored the opening goal in the 13th minute of the first half. Son Heung-min passed the ball to Spence, who was overlapping on the left side. Spence sent a cutback pass to the center, and Johnson finished it off with a non-stop shot, shaking the net.

Goals did not come easily after that. In the 26th minute of the first half, Romero aimed for the goal with a sharp diving header, but Ramsdale saved it with his face. In the 35th minute of the first half, Vázquez found the net from a free kick situation, but it was canceled after more than 5 minutes of video review (VAR) due to a teammate's offside.

Johnson scored a multi-goal performance. In the 42nd minute of the first half, Southampton's defense failed to handle a high ball in the box properly. Maddison headed the ball into the air, and Johnson expertly redirected it, piercing the corner of the goal. Tottenham led 2-0 at the half.

With a comfortable lead, Tottenham substituted Son Heung-min and Bentancur for Papé Sarr and Wilson Odobert in the 58th minute to prepare for the Frankfurt match midweek. After that, the match continued in a somewhat dull flow. Southampton did not make any significant moves until Mateusz Fernandes scored a consolation goal in the 90th minute.

Tottenham sealed the match with a penalty goal from Mattheus Tell in stoppage time of the second half. Johnson earned a valuable penalty kick after being brought down by an opposing defender. The game ended with Tottenham's 3-1 victory.

The standout performer of the victory was undoubtedly Johnson. He scored two goals and reached double digits in league goals faster than Son Heung-min, who has 7 goals. The football statistics outlet 'Squawka' noted, "Johnson is the first Tottenham player to score 10 goals in the PL this season. He also reached double digits in league goals for the first time in his career."

However, Johnson had to feel some regret. He earned a penalty kick at the end of the match but had to concede to Tell. Already having scored two goals, Johnson exclaimed "hat trick," expressing his desire to take it. Nevertheless, Tell, who had not scored a goal in 312 minutes since transferring to Tottenham, took the kick and scored his debut goal.

It was the decision of the vice captain, Romero. The British outlet 'TBR Football' explained, "Johnson was deprived of the opportunity to achieve his first PL hat trick. He prepared for his third goal, but the chance was taken away by Romero. It seems Romero judged that Tell needed a goal more than Johnson. After hugging Johnson, he took the ball and handed it to Tell."

The Tottenham fan community 'To the Rain and Back' also stirred debate by saying, "Why didn’t Johnson take the penalty kick directly when he was on the verge of a hat trick? Romero decided to prioritize Tell's confidence over Johnson's hat trick. Tell successfully converted the penalty kick without error, marking his first PL goal and Tottenham's second goal overall."

This is not the first time Tottenham players have quarreled over who will take the kick during a match. In particular, right-back Porro has clashed with Maddison multiple times over free kick opportunities. Central midfielder Yves Bissouma has also joined in. For this reason, it is very likely that Tottenham fans have seen Son Heung-min, the underperforming captain, stepping in to mediate.

However, this time, Johnson generously conceded before the situation escalated into a full-blown dispute. Given that he earned the penalty kick himself and was on the line for his first career hat trick, it was natural for him to want to seize the opportunity, yet he stepped back for younger Tell.

Among fans, there were also discussions about the vice captain Romero's decision being regrettable. One cannot help but wonder what would have happened if the captain and penalty kick taker Son Heung-min had been on the field.

After the match, Johnson shared his reasons for willingly conceding to Tell in an interview with the Tottenham club. He acknowledged, "It’s natural to want to take the penalty kick," but added, "I don’t want to get too deep into it. We talked, and Tell stepped up and accepted the ball. If there’s too much discussion, it can get confusing. I have experienced situations where people tried to take the ball from me before. That makes me feel a bit uneasy."

Johnson also added, "I knew the game was almost over. But I still didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable or cause a disagreement. So a decision was made, and I just accepted it that way." Tell has a lot to thank Johnson for.

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