DEUTSCH AND GO
Herr-raising moment as skipper Son’s inspirational speech helps Timo finally end his Prem barren spell
TOTTENHAM
CRYSTAL PALACE
BY MIKE WALTERS
TIMO WERNER’S first Premier League goal in 682 days was inspired by Deutsch courage after a pep-talk from his skipper Heungmin Son – in German.
Tottenham’s season boils down to Champions League or bust – and all the eggs in Spurs’ basket came out Sonny side up after three goals in 11 minutes, including on-loan striker Werner’s first for the club, flattened Palace eins-zwei-drei.
Goals dried up like a hosepipe ban for Werner at Chelsea and he was struggling at Red Bull Leipzig (two in 14) until fair dinkum north London messiah Ange Postecoglou came calling in January.
Werner missed a first-half chance to end his drought stretching back to October in the
Bundesliga, but you do not own a Champions
League winner’s medal if you cannot hit a barn door.
After Son’s encouragement in his native language – the South Korean spent seven years in Germany with Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen – even Werner couldn’t miss an open goal (below) as Spurs finally hit their stride.
Now Spurs’ crusade for a return to gilded orbit hits Amen Corner in a pivotal clash at top-four rivals Aston Villa on Sunday.
And the key to Champions League riches could be their tribute to that hit movie about a fugitive fish: Finding Timo.
Son, who wrapped up victory with a majestic finish (above) after Werner’s first bullseye in English football since April 2022 and Cristian Romero’s header, said: “Timo had a fantastic game and he helps a lot for the team.
As an attacking player, when you miss a good chance you can get a bit down.
“I told him to keep going in German because he has a lot of potential as he showed when he got the equaliser.
“It will be a huge game at Villa and we have to be ready. They are a really strong side. We need to be ready for the battles but you always feel excited when you have a big game.”
Relieved Werner, who swept home dynamic sub Brennan Johnson’s cross, said: “I’m very pleased, very happy, it was an important one – especially after the big first-half chance
“I haven’t felt any pressure to score (my first) because the guys have made me feel very comfortable from day one.
“They have made it easy for me to focus on playing, and now I’ve got the first goal done, it’s even better for me.
“This was a big step for me to get more confidence and hopefully I can take it into our next games.”
Tottenham have a £15m option to turn Werner’s loan into a permanent move this summer. For pace and directness it looks a no-brainer, even if his finishing is as random as the lottery balls. He is not looking that far ahead yet, adding: “We have so many important games in the next few weeks there’s no need to think about that.
“This was an important result because being in the Champions League places is our big aim.
“Next week we have a very big game at Aston Villa and, if we win that then we will have a very good chance of reaching our target.”
TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Vicario 6; Emerson Royal 6, Romero 7, Van de Ven 8, Udogie 6; Bentancur 5 (Johnson 63, 7), Bissouma 6 (Lo Celso 90); Kulusevski 6, Maddison 6 (Hojbjerg 82), Werner 7 (Sarr 82); Son 8 (Scarlett 90)
CRYSTAL PALACE (3-4-2-1): Johnstone 6; Ward 6, Andersen 6, Richards 6; Munoz 5, Lerma 5, Wharton 7 (Hughes 71), Mitchell 6; Ayew 6 (Edouard 71), Eze 7 (Franca 66, 5); Mateta 5