Son Heung-min nets 9th goal of season, scores own goal in draw vs. Man City

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Yonhap) -- Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur has grabbed sole possession of third place in the Premier League scoring race, with a goal against defending champions Manchester City in a 3-3 draw.

The Spurs skipper, though, also scored one into his own net in this wild away match.

Son opened the scoring after only six minutes at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, on Sunday (local time) with his ninth goal of the campaign. In a counterattack opportunity, Son broke from inside his own half to take a long pass from Dejan Kulusevski, before holding off Jeremy Doku and firing a low shot past goalkeeper Ederson.

It made Son the first player in Premier League history to score away goals against four reigning champions. The South Korean star had previously done so against Leicester City, Chelsea and Liverpool when they had won the league title the previous year.

With his ninth goal of the season, Son broke a tie with Jarrod Bowen of West Ham United to move into third place alone in goals.

Son has reached nine goals in only 14 matches this season, after scoring 10 in 36 contests last season. He sits a goal away from extending his streak of scoring in double figures to eight seasons.

Tottenham's lead only lasted about two minutes, though, as Son inadvertently put Erling Haaland's attempt into his own net.

Son made another bit of history there, as he became just the second player in the Premier League to score a goal and an own goal within the opening 10 minutes of a match. He joined former Aston Villa player Gareth Barry, who first pulled off that feat against Charlton in May 1999.

Man City grabbed the lead in the 31st minute with Phil Foden's goal, but Spurs pulled even in the 69th minute when Son set up Giovani Lo Celso for a low strike that went in off the inside of the post.

The home team regained their lead with nine minutes remaining, with Jack Grealish converting a Haaland feed.

But the visitors wouldn't go away, and Kulusevski headed home a Brennan Johnson cross into the top-left corner to make it a 3-3 match in the 90th minute.

It was the 24th goal on this five-match day, the most goals on a Sunday with a maximum of five games.

Son, who was voted by fans as the Man of the Match, trails Mohamed Salah of Liverpool by one goal. Haaland continues to lead the way with 14.

Haaland won the Golden Boot as the Premier League's top scorer last season with 36 goals. Two seasons ago, Son and Salah shared the honor with 23 goals each.

Spurs stayed in fifth in the tables with 27 points from eight wins, three draws and three losses. They entered this match having lost three straight matches.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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