Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has shared what went through his mind when Tottenham Hotspur star Heung-min Son went through on goal.
Spurs suffered their fourth defeat in five games in the Premier League on Tuesday night.
Two goals from Erling Haaland sealed the game for Manchester City, but it wasn’t an easy night by any means for the defending champions.
Son could’ve easily spoiled their party.
Pep Guardiola details what went through his mind before Heung-min Son missed his big chance
Most Tottenham fans didn’t want their side to win on Tuesday night as it would’ve helped Arsenal in their bid to lift the Premier League.
The result worked out in the end, but things could’ve been very different.
Tottenham were the better side for large parts of the game, especially in the first half. They had a few chances to score.
The biggest opportunity of the game, however, fell to skipper Heung-min Son.
The 31-year-old has a good record against Manchester City and has previously troubled Pep Guardiola, especially at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
With just a few minutes of normal time left on the clock, Son found himself one-on-one with Stefan Ortega, and everyone at the stadium expected him to score.
However, the Korean’s shot was saved brilliantly by the City keeper, who is the reason why Arsenal don’t have a hand on the title.
Guardiola was on the floor when Son went through on goal, and he has now revealed that he was expecting the worst at that moment on the touchline.
He said in his press conference, as relayed on Beanyman Sports: “What I said? ‘Oh God!’
“Do you know how many times Son has punished us in the last seven-eight years? Can I tell you how many goals he has scored against us with Harry Kane? Oh my God!
“I said ‘not once again.’”
xG data explains how bad Heung-min Son’s miss was
if Arsenal fans had to pick one Tottenham player to have a one-on-one opportunity, almost every single one of them would’ve picked Hueng-min Son.
The South Korea international is a world-class player and among the best in the Premier League. He is almost always lethal in front of goal and you’d expect him to score every time he gets a chance.
However, the game against Manchester City on Tuesday night didn’t go to plan.
Son missed a huge opportunity to level the game with just a few minutes left on the clock. The opportunity generated an xG score of 0.54.
To put that into perspective, the huge chance France’s Randal Kolo Muani missed against Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final in Qatar only generated an xG score of 0.51.
It was a bad miss from Son, and we’re sure he would’ve been disappointed with his effort after the game.
