Son hails Spurs’ character ahead of Cats trip
Son Heung-min was delighted with Tottenham’s show of character – as their title ambitions were helped by a fightback from two goals down to win a point at Manchester City.
The draw was a big boost for Mauricio Pochettino’s men – especially after never getting near their best form.
Spurs have flown out to Barcelona for a mini midwinter break, but they will be back to face Wycombe in the FA Cup this weekend before returning to Premier League action at Sunderland next Tuesday.
Remarkably, the game remained scoreless until two horrendo us Hugo Lloris blunders in the space of five minutes early in the second half gifted goals to City’s Leroy Sane and Kevin De Bruyne.
It seemed City would go on to wrap up the points and move back into the top four, but Spurs denied them by making their only two efforts on target count.
Dele Alli pulled one back with a header and Son’s low, first-time effort rounded off a slick move to level – as City protested over a rejected penalty claim.
South Korea star Son said: “I believed we could still win or get a point. I think everyone was of the same mind.
“We were 2-0 down and to get 2-2 I think is very important. We showed our character and mentality is so strong.
“Sometimes it is very difficult and we can’t play well every week. We can’t play well every day or every week.
“We always try, but we’re people, not robots. We try to get to the high level but sometimes it’s just not working.
“We came back and I think it was so important.”
The 24-year-old, asked about his equaliser, added: “It was unbelievable and the fans were unbelievable again, like always. Every time you score it’s a special moment but for me, we were 2-1 down and to draw 2-2 in Manchester City, this is a special memory for me.”
Midfielder Mousa Dembele was glad to pick up a point, taking them up to 46 points from 22 games, though they dropped to third place following neighbours Arsenal’s late win over Burnley yesterday.
The former Fulham man commented: “In the first half, we were very disappointing in our style of play – we didn’t play as confidently as we usually do and like we’ve done in the previous games.
“At half-time, the manager wasn’t happy and told us to get out there and play our own game. To be honest, the second half wasn’t that great either, but one thing we have shown is that we can bounce back in games.
“It’s a very important point for us and we’re all very happy with that point because everyone could see that City were on top of us.”
Spurs boss Pochettino was also content with a point in the circumstances.
“It is always important to show character, good quality and personality,” he said.
“We showed great character at 2-0 down against Manchester City, which is always difficult, but we believed. It is a massive point for us.”