Middlesbrough 1 Tottenham 2: Son shines for Spurs

Son Heung-min netted twice to help Tottenham to a 2-1 win over Middlesbrough in Saturday’s Premier League encounter at the Riverside Stadium.

The South Korea international endured a difficult first season at Spurs following his move from Bayer Leverkusen as he scored just four times in 28 league games and was even linked with a move away from the club ahead of the 2016-17 campaign.

He eventually opted to stay put, though, and has been in impressive form since his return from the Rio Olympics.

The attacker put in a man-of-the-match performance in the 4-0 win over Stoke City and once more led his side the way on Saturday as he netted a double to take his tally to four strikes in just three league outings.

Son opened the scoring early on after being set up by Vincent Janssen, before doubling Spurs’ lead halfway through the first half with a fine solo effort.

Middlesbrough pulled one back after the break via Ben Gibson, but failed to level matters as the away side cruised to victory to make it 14 points from six games, while Boro have collected just five points following their third consecutive defeat.

Tottenham were on the front foot from the start, with Moussa Sissoko and Dele Alli going close before Son opened the scoring in the seventh minute following some great work from Janssen. The Dutchman did well to hold up the ball after being played in by Christian Eriksen before laying it off for Son, who danced past three opponents and beat goalkeeper Victor Valdes with a low left-footed shot.  

Son continued to cause the Middlesbrough defence all kinds of problems in the opening 45 minutes and the 24-year-old doubled his side’s lead in the 23rd minute. He initially seemed to have lost the ball after being set up by Janssen, only to win it back and shrug off two defenders before firing past Valdes.  

Valdes was again called into action shortly after the half-hour mark when Sissoko tried his luck from close range after Eriksen’s blocked shot ended up in his feet, the goalkeeper emerging victorious this time around.  

Alli then felt he should have been awarded a penalty after being shoved to the ground by Cristhian Stuani as Spurs went in search of a third goal, with the England international again asking for a spot-kick in the 41st minute when Adam Clayton seemingly handled the ball, before he blasted a gilt-edged chance over the crossbar in the dying seconds of the first half.

Middlesbrough brought on Adama Traore and Jordan Rhodes after the break in search of the 2-1 and they eventually pulled one back in the 65th minute when Gibson headed home after a free-kick from Stewart Downing.

Boro could not net a second, though, as Rhodes had a good header saved by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, with Tottenham eventually recording their third Premier League win on the trot.