Tottenham Hotspur’s poor form continued after a 1-0 Boxing Day defeat against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. That is the sixth time they have failed to win in December, with their only victories coming away to Southampton and at home to Manchester United in a hectic Carabao Cup tie.
Indeed, it was a former Red Devils star who sunk the Lilywhites, with Anthony Elanga scoring the only goal of the game. It was a game where Spurs dominated the ball. As per Sofascore, they had 70% possession but failed to break down a tough Forest defence.
One of the most disappointing performers on the day was captain Son Heung-Min.
Son’s stats vs. Forest
It has been a bit of a strange season for Tottenham captain Son. The South Korean is naturally not having the same impact as he did a few years ago, given the fact he is 32 years of age. Yet, he still has five goals and six assists in 14 Premier League games.
Against Southampton in the 5-0 thrashing earlier this month, the Spurs captain scored once and grabbed two assists.
He also scored twice in the 4-0 win over Everton on the second day of the season. So, the numbers are there, but he has struggled for form too.
Perhaps the defeat on Boxing Day is a prime example of this. Whilst the Spurs number seven was involved in the game, having 53 touches and creating three chances, he didn’t really have the impact one might expect.
This was certainly echoed by Football.London journalist Alasdair Gold. The Spurs correspondent gave the Lilywhites number seven a 4/10 for his performance in the East Midlands, describing his display as ‘hesitant and ineffective’.
Ange Postecoglou now has a bold decision to make. With Spurs stuck in this rut of limp form, he might well choose to drop his captain for their next game against Wolverhampton Wanderers. It would be a bold call, but one that is perhaps justified.
That does leave the question of who could replace Son in the side, with one option being Lucas Bergvall.
