EPL

Son not 'undroppable' for Spurs, admits Conte

By Sports Desk September 15, 2022

Son Heung-min is not "undroppable", admits Tottenham boss Antonio Conte, following a tough start to the season for the forward.

Son was arguably the standout performer under Conte last season, helping to fire Spurs to a top-four finish and Champions League football.

His tally of 23 league goals saw him share the competition's top-scorer award with Liverpool star Mohamed Salah. No player has had more shots without scoring in the Premier League this season than Son (17).

But Son has struggled to maintain those standards this season, failing to score in his six league appearances and providing just one top-flight assist.

With Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski pressing to start ahead of this weekend's clash with lowly Leicester City, Son's place is under question, and Conte hinted the 30-year-old could be taken out.

"There are no players that are undroppable," he stated. "This has to be very clear. There are no players that are undroppable. If I tell this, it's only to try to help my players

"[It's] to try to avoid injuries, to try to have players at the top of their form and to have a good performance. If I am telling this it is only to protect my players and to give them the possibility to be, in every moment, at the top."

One player who has flourished this term is defender Eric Dier, a former England mainstay whose form has seen him end a two-year exodus from the national setup with a recall from Gareth Southgate for the Three Lions' Nations League games against Italy and Germany.

Conte professed his pride in Dier's return to the England fold, adding that it validates the defender's impressive club performances, particularly with the 2022 World Cup looming.

"I'm really pleased because when my players are called up to the national teams, we are really proud," he added. "It means we are working very well, and we are trying to help the players to go with the national teams.

"In this case for Eric it was a really good achievement for him. For the rest I think my staff and I and team-mates are very happy for this call up to the national team."

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    Hakan Calhanoglu failed to convert the spot kick in question late in the game, with the Turkish international having equalised for the hosts after Scott McTominay's opener.

    Despite the decision not affecting the result in the end, Conte criticised VAR for not overruling the referee's decision to penalise Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa for a foul on Denzel Dumfries. 

    "Can they [VAR] only intervene when it suits them? A decision from the referee like this can transform a match and VAR cannot do anything about it," Conte told DAZN.

    "Either VAR is there to correct errors or it is not. If there is an error, it has to intervene. It really angers me, but it does to all coaches. It has to intervene if there is a mistake.

    "If there is VAR, it must be used to correct errors or show the referee situations that he did not see. If it's a clear error, and it was, then why should [referee Maurizio] Mariani be allowed to just do that."

    Despite his frustration with refereeing decisions, Conte was satisfied with his team's performance, as they held strong against a spirited second-half display from the Italian champions.

    "I said that we would not come here to just be sparring partners against the strongest squad in Serie A, so it was important for us to face them with strength, character, accepting duels all over the field," he said.

    "On that score, I am very satisfied. It was not easy to play here. We all know that we are making improvements and working hard, otherwise, you don't come to San Siro twice and also against Juventus without defeat.

    "The lads are proving themselves, though, of course, we could've done much, much more in terms of quality today. There were too many errors, a lot of technical errors, but I am sure there will be further improvements."

    Napoli's point ensured they stayed top of Serie A heading into the international break, moving them to 26 points in what is shaping up to be a tight title race. Conte's side sit one point clear of Atalanta, Fiorentina, Inter and Lazio.

  • Premier League MD11: Lucky winners and unlucky losers Premier League MD11: Lucky winners and unlucky losers

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    Opta's supercomputer now has Liverpool, who are five points clear at the top following their win over Aston Villa on Saturday, as the favourites to go on and win the title.

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    Lucky winners: Manchester United

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    However, it is fair to say United were rather fortunate to net three times at Old Trafford, with the data suggesting they did not even create chances worthy of one goal, never mind three.

    United's expected goals (xG) was 0.69, the third-lowest total in the league this weekend and behind Leicester's 0.77.

    Bruno Fernandes scored one and set up another on his 250th appearance for the club, either side of Victor Kristiansen's own goal, but from 13 shots, United, who had only 17 touches in Leicester's box, really did not create much in the way of quality opportunities.

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    Spare a thought for Erik ten Hag, given when he was in charge, United's attack was underperforming. Now Amorim just needs to pick up where Van Nistelrooy left off...

    Unlucky losers: Manchester City

    Man City are suddenly the crisis club, having lost four straight games for the first time since August 2006. Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, has lost four games in a row in all competitions for the very first time in his managerial career.

    Erling Haaland also lost a Premier League match in which he scored a goal for the very first time, having put City ahead before Joao Pedro and Matt O'Riley clinched the points for Brighton.

     

    Brighton finished with 2.29 xG, so they did deserve to score at least twice. However, City can still consider themselves unfortunate, given their 2.22 xG was the third-highest of any team across the weekend.

    Their post-shot expected goals on target (xGoT) also rose to 2.98, showing that Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen was on fine form.

    City also created five big chances, missing four of them, and hit the woodwork once. That being said, they conceded eight big chances, with Brighton letting them off for six of those, so it was not a good day at the office for Guardiola.

    Unlucky losers: Bournemouth

    If Man City were unfortunate, then the team to have created the highest xG (2.61) this past weekend – Bournemouth – can consider themselves hard done by.

    Andoni Iraola claimed his team were worthy of the three points against Brentford, despite the Cherries losing 3-2, and the underlying metrics suggest the Spaniard was fair in his assessment.

     

    Only Tottenham (35 in their loss against Ipswich Town) had more touches in the opponent's box than Bournemouth's 34 at the Gtech Community Stadium, but Iraola's side were made to pay for some dismal finishing.

    Their xGoT dropped to 1.68, while Brentford's rose from 1.48 xG to 1.84 xGoT – essentially, the level of finishing from Brentford's players increased the likelihood they would score, while Bournemouth's finishing was below what would have been anticipated based on the quality of chances they had. That is further backed up by the fact the Cherries only got three of their 15 attempts on target.

  • Van Nistelrooy praises Man Utd fight after signing off with win Van Nistelrooy praises Man Utd fight after signing off with win

    Ruud van Nistelrooy praised Manchester United's fight to earn a 3-0 win against Leicester City in his final game as interim manager.

    The Dutchman took over after Erik ten Hag's dismissal last month and went unbeaten in his short stint, winning three of his games and drawing the other, with Ruben Amorim set to take over from Monday.

    Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho got the goals on either side of Victor Kristiansen turning into the back of his own net to earn United just their fourth Premier League win of the campaign.

    United are now unbeaten in 19 straight Premier League games against promoted sides, taking 53 of a possible 57 points across these matches (W17 D2). Their last such defeat came away to Claudio Ranieri's Watford back in November 2021 (1-4).

    It is not yet clear if Van Nistelrooy will remain at the club on Amorim's coaching staff, but the former United striker is proud of his short time in charge at Old Trafford.

    "It was professional, you could see that players were fighting through the game," he told BBC Sport. "We scored two great goals and there were some good bits, but we didn't have real control of the game.

    "I really enjoyed it [being interim manager], it's been a short but amazing period. We are in an uncertain position, but we tried to do our jobs and help the club, which is important.

    "There are a lot of feelings there, the way the fans supported me and the team always in difficult moments. It was a special moment. To close down this block of games with good results and a good connection, I can't thank them enough.

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    "This spell was a big responsibility; I took it very seriously. I wanted to help and get United into a better place. That was my goal. With three wins and a draw, it's a standard where you want to grow to as a club.

    "The connection with the fans was there, I really felt it. This is what United is really about."

    Going into their match against Leicester, United had scored just nine league goals, their lowest-ever tally after 10 games in Premier League history.

    Fernandes scored four goals under Van Nistelrooy’s leadership, having failed to hit the back of the net in the league before that, bringing up his 100th goal involvement in the Premier League with his assist for Garnacho.

    "You saw the class of the team in our goals, we also gave very little away," Van Nistelrooy added.

    "We tried to stabilise after a difficult and emotional period. We wanted to get players performing at their best, we got the right feeling to them and got them to believe in themselves.

    "It was an important three points. In the four games, Bruno scored some important goals, assisting too, so he is back producing. That's the Bruno that is helping the team the most.

    "I spoke to Alejandro Garnacho before the game, he has played a lot of minutes, and I wanted him to make an impact off the bench, and I'm glad it worked out. We said: 'Let's make the most of these four games', get the maximum out of it and I think we did an OK job."

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