Son Heung-min proved there is life at Tottenham Hotspur without Harry Kane as his goal earned the north London club a surprise 1-0 win over champions Manchester City in an absorbing Premier League opener on Sunday.
All the talk beforehand was whether Tottenham’s goalscoring talisman Kane, strongly linked with a big-money move to City, would be involved. The England skipper was duly left out of the squad, having only just returned to training, but it was his usual strike partner Son who gave Tottenham’s new manager Nuno Espirito Santo a perfect start to his reign in front of a capacity crowd.
Tottenham were a constant threat on the counter-attack against a City side boasting new £100 million ($139 million) signing Jack Grealish and it was from one such raid from deep in the 55th minute that Son beat City ’keeper Ederson with a clinical finish.
City enjoyed the lion’s share of possession but their best chance came early on when Riyad Mahrez sliced wide. Pep Guardiola had the luxury of £347 million worth of talent on the bench but even when Kevin de Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus joined the fray late on, City were unable to spark.
The final whistle was greeted with a huge roar by Tottenham’s fans who chanted “Nuno, Nuno” as their new Portuguese manager proved an instant hit.
“Amazing! It was a good day. Hard work for the boys, they worked really hard, the distance they covered, the balance, the fight,” the former Wolverhampton Wanderers coach said.
“Still a long way to go but most of the things the boys did well. We are knowing each other better and it is about creating this energy between us to keep us moving forward. There is always something new and always something to improve.”
City could have few complaints about the result and have now lost all four games they have played at Tottenham’s magnificent new stadium without scoring a goal.
They are also only the third Premier League champions to lose their opening game of the following season.
Antonio amends
In Sunday’s other match, West Ham United forward Michail Antonio missed a penalty before scoring with a thundering shot as the Londoners came from behind to outclass Newcastle United 4-2 at St James’ Park.
Antonio collected Said Benrahma’s neat pass and blasted one past Freddie Woodman to make it 4-2, shortly after the debutant goalkeeper palmed away the forward’s poor spot kick only for Tomas Soucek to pounce on the rebound to put West Ham ahead.
Antonio’s strike made him West Ham’s joint top-scorer in the EPL alongside Paolo Di Canio on 47 goals.
