Son Heung-min scores to secure Tottenham's League win

Tottenham players Toby Alderweireld, right, and Erik Lamela, center, celebrate with Son Heung-min, left, who scored their side’s first goal during the Champions League Group E football match between CSKA Moscow and Tottenham Hotspur, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday. / AP-Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

Tottenham Hotsupur’s Korean forward Son Heung-min has proved his brilliance once again, scoring a winning goal in his team’s UEFA Champions League victory over Russian club CSKA Moscow, Tuesday.

The 24-year-old started the Group E match at the Arena CSKA well and netted the decisive second half goal to secure Tottenham’s 1-0 win.

The goal came in the 71st minute. When Son headed toward the middle, he was provided a wonderful assist by Erik Lamela and shot the ball under CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.

With the win, Tottenham now ranks second with three points (one win and one draw), on goal difference behind top placed AS Monaco.

Son has now amassed six career Champions League goals, a record for a Korean player in the Champions League surpassing former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung who had five. Son also scored five for Bayer Leverkusen in the 2014/15 season.

Though Son has been displaying his dominance at Tottenham Hotspur, scoring five goals in the past five matches, it remains to be seen whether he can also be the hottest player in the national team.

While the top two teams get automatic berths to the 2018 World Cup, Korea now ranks third following a 3-2 win over China and a scoreless draw with Syria earlier this month.

Paired in Group A of the final Asian qualification with China, Syria, Uzbekistan, Iran and Qatar, Korea is desperate to add more wins to make their ninth consecutive World Cup appearance.

In such a circumstance, fans have put high expectations on Son who was named to the 23-man roster for the qualifiers.

Expressing his great expectation for Son, national team coach Uli Stileke said “playing well for his club should do wonders for his confidence” at a press conference announcing his 23-man roster in Seoul, Monday. "I think that level of confidence will have a positive impact on the rest of the squad."