Hamburg’s Korean forward Son Heung-min celebrates after a German Bundesliga match against Hanover 96 in Hamburg, Germany, Saturday. He scored to give his side a 1-0 victory. / Reuters-Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

Hamburg earned some breathing space from the bottom three, moving five points clear of automatic relegation in the Bundesliga Saturday thanks to Son Heung-min’s goal at the SGL Arena, Augsburg.

The 20-year-old Korean striker did not waste his chance to show what he can do on the field, in his first start since December. He greatly contributed to his team, scoring the opener 12 minutes after the start.

Soon after the kick-off, Son fired a low free kick, warning the visiting team that the match would not be easy. Then he burst into the penalty area, beating the last defender to put the ball into the right corner of the net.

He had seven more shots, meaning his total was the same as the number of attempts for the visitors in the match.

Son started the season well, scoring three goals at the beginning of the campaign. However, since Thorsten Fink took over as manager in October, he has barely gotten a chance. His stellar performance in this game is expected to open the door for him.

Son joined Hamburg’s youth academy at the age of 16. During the 2011-2012 pre-season Son was impressive, scoring 18 goals in nine games. However, an ankle injury put him on the sidelines and he has struggled to command a place in the first team since then.