‘Injured’ Salah 1 goal behind… Asia’s first big league top scorer challenge
Tottenham Hotspur advance to UCL after 3 seasons… Opponent ‘relegation confirmed’ Norwich
Manchester City vs Liverpool winners in the final match… Salah participation variable
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(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Hong-seok Ahn = Son Heung-min (30) will take on the final challenge for the English Premier League (EPL) top scorer and his team Tottenham Hotspur to advance to the UEFA Champions League (UCL) this weekend.
The final 38 rounds of the 2021-2022 season will be held at 0:00 (KST) on the 23rd (Korean time).
Tottenham will play an away match against ‘last’ Norwich City at Caro Road in Norwich, England on the same day.
The final round is the final round between Son Heung-Min’s first Asian European top scorer title and Tottenham’s advance to the UCL next season.
The intense rivalry between Manchester City and Liverpool also comes to an end.
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◇ Park Bing’s competition for the top scorer… Is it Heung-Min Son who is fluttering, or Salah with broken wings?
The competition for the top scorer has been narrowed down to a two-way match between Son Heung-min and Muhammad Salah (Liverpool).
Son Heung-min, who scored 21 goals, is chasing Salah, who has 22 goals, by one goal, but Son Heung-min has an advantage.
Salah’s goal scorer, which was hot enough to score seven consecutive goals in the first half, has been inactive for over a month since the match against Manchester United on April 20.
In addition, he suffered a knee injury in the match against Aston Villa on the 11th. As a result, he was unable to play in Round 37 against Southampton on the 18th.
British media The Evening Standard predicted that Salah would not appear in the final match, and wrote that “Salah’s injury could work in his favor”.
On the other hand, Son Heung-min is flying. He has scored 4 goals in the last 4 matches.
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In the previous 37 rounds with Burnley, he was unable to score goals, but before that, he scored three goals in a row and pursued Salah to the chin.
He also holds the record for the most goals scored in the regular season.
In the EPL, if the number of goals is the same, the players will be jointly ranked as the top scorers without considering other records such as playing time. In the EPL, the joint top scorer came four times.
Heung-Min Son is also aiming for the ‘EPL Player of the Year’ award, which is the league’s MVP. He is one of the highest honors of a football player.
Competitors include Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Joao Cancelou, Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) and Bukayo Saka (Arsenal).
It may not seem easy at all, but if Son Heung-min wins the title of top scorer, his chances of winning the Player of the Year award can be increased.
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◇ Will Tottenham beat Arsenal to advance to the UCL after 3 seasons?
Tottenham, who climbed to 4th place (68 points, goal difference +24) thanks to Son Heung-min’s great performance in the second half of the season, have to beat Arsenal in the 5th place (66 points, goal difference +9) in the last round to get to fourth place in the UCL next season. get the ticket
Tottenham Hotspur are far ahead in goal difference, so a draw could actually take them into fourth place.
Their opponent, Norwich, has already been relegated to the bottom of the table (22 points). The defense is so poor that it has conceded 16 goals in the last 6 matches (1 draw and 5 losses).
Tottenham beat Norwich 3-0 at home in the first half. Son Heung-min contributed one goal and one assist, including a key goal.
On the other hand, Arsenal face a very burdensome opponent. There is still a possibility of relegation, so we will face 16th (36 points) Everton at home.
If Tottenham achieves fourth place, they will compete in the UCL stage for the first time in three seasons after the 2019-2020 season.
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◇ Leading Man City vs Liverpool 1 point behind… ‘The end of the championship race is also in the final match’
The winner of the fierce competition for the title is also decided in the final match. Liverpool are one point behind the leaders (90 points), Manchester City (Man City), in second place (89 points).
Manchester City will face Aston Villa at home, and Liverpool will face Hwang Hee-chan’s team Wolverhampton at home.
If Manchester City draws and Liverpool wins, Liverpool will win the championship. Neither team has an answer other than victory.
Coincidentally, Manchester City’s opponent, Aston Villa, is headed by “Liverpool legend” Steven Gerrard.
Liverpool goalkeeper Salah’s physical condition and appearance are expected to determine the direction of the championship.
Liverpool will play Real Madrid (Spain) in the UCL final on the 29th.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will have to make a difficult choice if Salah recovers enough to play, whether to force him to play in the EPL final or to save it and use it in the UCL final.
It goes without saying that Klopp’s choice can affect Son Heung-min’s challenge to the top scorer.
ahs@yna.co.kr
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2022/05/19 10:51 Send
