Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min once again proves that he is one of the best strikers in the Premier League, overwhelming Erling Holan (Manchester City) in some areas.
On the 18th (Korea Standard Time), soccer statistics media “Data MB” said on SNS, “Son Heung-min vs. Erling Holland (2023/24).” “Who is the best striker in the Premier League?” he posted a photo.
The photo was a comparison of Son Heung-min and Hallan’s Premier League stat this season. Tables and radar charts show the stat recorded by the two players in a total of seven areas (number of passes, fighting rate, number of goals excluding penalty points, expectation points, pass into the box, attack behavior, and playing time).
The radar chart shows the difference in stets between the two players at a glance, and Son Heung-min caught the eye ahead of Hallan in all five areas except for xG (expected score) and the number of points excluding penalties.
After the opening of the 2023/24 Premier League, Hallan scored 13 goals to lead the scoring, while Son Heung-min, who scored eight goals, is chasing after him in third place. The difference between the two players is five goals, but it is reduced to two goals, excluding penalty kicks. While Hallan scored three goals from penalty kicks this season, all eight goals Son Heung-min scored are field goals.
Hallan outperformed Son Heung-bin not only in scoring but also in XG value. xG (Expected Goals) is a number representing the probability of statistically analyzing all of a player’s shots. Each shot has a value between xG 0.00 and 1.00. If the xG of a shot is 0.50, statistically speaking, the goal probability of the shot is 50%. 안전놀이터
According to the media, Hallan’s average xG was 0.991 and Son Heung-min was 0.676. This means that if Holan kicks a shot, it almost leads to a goal.
Except for these two, Son Heung-min has also succeeded in leading Holan in all five areas. In particular, fans were surprised to see Son Heung-min’s physical fight winning percentage. Son Heung-min recorded 67.2 percent in the fight winning percentage category, but Hallan’s record was only 27.6 percent.
This clearly shows that Son Heung-min is better at physical fights than Hallan, and the fact that he has a higher odds of physical fights than Hallan, who is called a “monster striker” because he is 194 centimeters tall in the Premier League, which is famous for its fierce physical fights, caught the attention of fans.
Some fans saw Hallan’s poor fighting rate and evaluated him as a player who was passive in fighting for his size. However, the fact that Holan is weak in physical fight is not a big flaw because he runs the scoring in every game with explosive speed and strong and accurate shooting.
Meanwhile, the news that he is ahead of Hallan in some stets has delighted fans, meaning Son Heung-min perfectly shook off his slump last season. Son Heung-min, who was the top scorer in the Premier League in the 2021/22 season, scored only 10 league goals last season due to sluggishness and injury.
Some expressed concern that Son Heung-min, who is in his 30s, might have been on the decline, but fortunately, Son Heung-min succeeded in reviving the 2023/24 season. Son Heung-min, who has turned into a No. 9 striker under new head coach Anji Postecoglou, has returned to the top Premier League striker by regaining his previous form.
At the beginning of the league, Son Heung-min scored eight goals and is competing with Holan, the top scorer in the Premier League last season, and Egyptian soccer star Mohamed Salah (10 goals, Liverpool). Competition for the title is not expected to be easy, but Son Heung-min, who had no goal in eight games since the opening of last season, has entertained fans just by participating in the top scoring race.
Thanks to Son Heung-min’s performance, Tottenham also succeeded in rebounding. Tottenham, which failed to advance to the European competition after finishing eighth in the league the previous season, is currently in fourth place with 26 points (8 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses). It is only two points away from the leading Manchester City (28 points, 9 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses), so it is competing for the championship beyond the UEFA Champions League ticket competition.