Antonio Conte revealed he told Son Heung-min he was about to be replaced just moments before scoring a brilliant goal in Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Leicester on Sunday.
Son scored his second of the match and his 19th goal of another productive campaign when he curled home a 20-yard left-footed effort beyond the reach of Kasper Schmeichel into the top corner to put the seal on Spurs’ victory.
He had earlier set up Harry Kane’s opener from a corner and doubled the lead when he turned and shot on the hour.
The quality of the goal left Conte wondering which was Son’s strongest foot, but the Italian said moments like that will only count for something if Spurs achieve their goal of finishing in the top four in the Premier League.
“I gave him a big hug because after an amazing goal my question was which is his favourite foot, right or left?” Conte said.
“He scored a fantastic goal and three minutes before when I spoke with him I said, ‘Go for five or six minutes and then I have to make a change’.
“I said to him that when you listened that I wanted to make a change and you decide to score this amazing goal.
“We are talking about a great player, fantastic player. But it’s important at the end of the season to celebrate a big achievement with the team. Otherwise it remains only a personal success only to score these types of goals.”
Tottenham v Leicester ratings
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TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris – 6 The Frenchman had a largely untroubled first half and despite looking beaten by Daka’s shot managed to get a fingertip on the ball to push it on to the woodwork. Unable to keep out Ihenancho’s shot from distance. AFP -
Cristian Romero – 8 The Atalanta loanee saved his side from going 1-0 down within 15 minutes following a mistake by Davies. Played a key role for Spurs’ second, showing great determination to win two challenges in the build-up. Action Images -
Eric Dier – 7 Confident display by the centre-back, which made Lloris’ job easier, with Leicester unable to get through for much of the game. Action Images -
Ben Davies – 6 An error by the Welshman could have spelled trouble for his side when he misjudged the ball, leaving Albrighton to nick it before Romero’s interception. Booked. Getty -
Emerson Royal – 7 Busy on the wing, Emerson caused trouble on the flank with his pace and willingness to tackle and block. AFP -
Rodrigo Bentancur – 7 The former Juventus man looked back to his best in the middle of the park alongside Hojbjerg. Booked. AP -
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 7 Dominating alongside Bentancur in the middle, Hojbjerg was even happy to add a couple of dribbles himself on the break. PA -
Ryan Sessegnon – 6 With Reguilon and Doherty sidelined, Sessegnon continued on the wing and sent in an enticing cross to Moura before half-time. Reuters -
Lucas Moura – 5 Making his first League start since February in Antonio Conte’s only change to the starting line-up, Moura failed to impress. Subbed early in the second half. AP -
Harry Kane – 7 Never a surprise to see the duo of Son and Kane link again, this time through a corner to put Tottenham in front, with the England captain heading in with ease. Nearly grabbed a second just after Iheanacho’s consolation goal. AP -
Son Heung-Min – 9 Another assist for the South Korean, who found his strike partner in the box to head home his inch-perfect corner. Scored two of his own, the first turning on the ball to slot past Schmeichel, the second a stunning goal from outside of the box to curl around the Leicester goalkeeper. AFP -
SUBS: Dejan Kulusevski (Moura 56’) – 7 Conte didn’t wait long to bring the Swede back into the team and he made an immediate impact to assist Son in netting Spurs’ second of the game. Getty -
Harry Winks (Bentancur 82’) – N/R The substitute looked to have completely forgotten to mark Ihenanacho in the closing stages of the game. Getty -
Steven Bergwijn (Son 82’) – N/R Part of a double change, Bergwijn was another who looked a bit disinterested in closing down. AFP -
LEICESTER CITY RATINGS: Kasper Schmeichel – 5 Called upon to deny Kane a second before half-time but made a mess of a cross into the box. Had little joy keeping out Spurs’ shots. Reuters -
Timothy Castagne – 5 The Belgian defender came to the rescue to end Emerson’s pacy run down the wing on the break, with the 26-year-old able to block the eventual shot/cross. Good in supporting Albrighton. AP -
Daniel Amartey - 5 Didn’t look the most solid. Beaten in the air for Kane’s goal. PA -
Caglar Soyuncu – 5 The Turk didn’t look the most confident at the back. Getty -
Luke Thomas – 4 The young left-back struggled to deal with Spurs’ domination on the wings early on and couldn’t deal with Kulusevski’s introduction in the second half. EPA -
Boubakary Soumare – 5 On his return from injury, Soumare skipped a challenge on the wing to deliver a tempting cross into the box, with Daka’s shot finding the woodwork early on. Getty -
Nampalys Mendy – 4 The Afcon winner nearly handed Kane a second on a plate when his careless backpass to his goalkeeper lacked pace. EPA -
Marc Albrighton – 6 Booked for a tackle on Bentancur but largely did well to keep Sessegnon quiet. EPA -
Kelechi Iheanacho – 5 Largely absent in comparison to his attacking partners in the first half, with just 14 touches to his name and a shot dragging wide of the post. However, he was given way too much space to squeeze a consolation goal past Lloris in stoppage time. EPA -
Ayoze Perez – 5 In just his fifth start in the league this season, the Spaniard found the side-netting in the opening stages of the game in Leicester’s first move before being fouled in a promising position. AFP -
Patson Daka – 6 Daka could have slotted Leicester ahead within 15 minutes following good work by Soumare on the wing. Later, he was just inches away from poking in the equaliser on the 40th minute. PA -
SUBS: Jamie Vardy (Daka 67’) – 5 The Leicester striker was unable to divert his header on target in his only real opportunity of his appearance. EPA -
Lewis Brunt (Soumare 67’) – 5 The youngster made his Premier League debut with Brendan Rodgers refusing to risk key players ahead of their game against Roma. PA -
Youri Tielemans (Perez 76’) – N/R Drilled forward to find Iheanacho for a late consolation goal for Leicester. Action Images
The victory saw Spurs get back on track in their quest for Champions League qualification after taking one point in their previous two games.
Things might have been different for Leicester had Hugo Lloris not tipped Patson Daka’s shot onto a post, but in the end they only had Kelechi Iheanacho’s stoppage-time strike to show for their efforts.
Manager Brendan Rodgers showed where his priorities lie having made many changes to his side with next week’s return trip to Roma in the Europa Conference League in mind.
"The nature of our season has been riddled with injuries, the players coming back I just cannot afford to risk them playing three games in a week," he said.
“Our schedule has been so heavy. We’ve got a game on Thursday that could go into extra time as well. I have been aware of that, it is nice to be able to do that and still be competitive.
“Going forward next year if we can keep the squad as fit as we can and add a player or two then we might be up there challenging again next season.”
