The South Korean may not be the most consistent player but he’s tailor-made for ripping open three-man defences.
It will take something rather special to stop Chelsea on current form. Their 4-2 victory against Stoke City rung in the New Year in some style, with Willian and Cesc Fabregas offering timely reminders of their qualities before Diego Costa sealed a 13th Premier League win in a row with the most Diego Costa goal imaginable.
On the flipside, however, Antonio Conte’s nigh-on faultless Blues looked comparatively fallible at the other end. Chelsea had accrued 10 clean sheets during that three-month long winning run but Stoke became the first team since an Alexis Sanchez inspired Arsenal in September to find the back of the net more than once against the Italian’s formidable defensive line.
Therefore, this should raise Tottenham Hotspur’s hopes ahead of a potentially season-defining clash at White Hart Lane on Tuesday. Mauricio Pochettino’s side have now won each of their last four league fixtures, scoring 13 goals in the process.
Harry Kane is fit and firing, Dele Alli is approaching his peak and Christian Eriksen is rediscovering his form after a prolonged period of ineffectiveness.
Yet, any opponent brave enough to challenge the formidable league leaders has to contend with more than Chelsea’s star-studded attack. As yet, no manager has found an answer to Conte’s famous 3-4-3.
However, in Heung Min Son, Pochettino has the perfect player to exploit the hidden weakness in Chelsea’s system. With wing-backs Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso essentially orthodox widemen, the South Korean’s pace and directness could exploit the spaces left in wide areas.
Coupled with the lack of pace embodied by Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta, Spurs could hit Chelsea quick on the counter or, if they so desire, monopolise possession and use Son’s high positioning to pin Moses and Alonso back. A 3-4-3 becomes a 5-4-1.
Tottenham will need a lot more than Son’s darting runs to bring Chelsea’s relentless winning run crashing down but, like as in November’s clash at Stamford Bridge, the 24-year-old could ask some rather uncomfortable questions.
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