Angie Postecoglou (60), Tottenham Hotspur manager, spoke about the return of captain Son Heung-min (33, Tottenham) from injury.

Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 0-2 home defeat against Crystal Palace in the 36th round of the Premier League for the 2024-2025 season on the 11th (Korean time) at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England.

Adding to the humiliating record of 20 losses in a single season since the inception of the Premier League, Tottenham remained at 17th place with 38 points (11 wins, 5 draws, 20 losses) after this lifeless defeat in the league, which followed the confirmation of their participation in the Europa League final.

Tottenham fell behind early with a goal from Eberechi Eze in the 45th minute of the first half, and shortly after the start of the second half, they conceded another goal to Eze, crumbling to a 0-2 defeat.

Son Heung-min, who was substituted in the 13th minute of the second half, made his return from injury. He struggled to convert several shots but did not manage to score. In the 44th minute of the second half, he also took a shot inside the box, but it was blocked by the defense, failing to spark a revival.

As a result, Tottenham recorded their 20th league loss of the season without any points. Despite Son Heung-min's return, their attacking power did not revive. Tottenham aims for a turnaround in the Europa League final against Manchester United on the 22nd.

In this match, Tottenham faced the setback of Dejan Kulusevski's injury. In the 15th minute of the first half, Kulusevski fell due to an opponent's tackle and lay on the ground for a while. He signaled that he was 'okay' and appeared to get back up, but was ultimately substituted for Moore four minutes later.

According to 'Football London', Postecoglou said, "It should be okay," noting, "I just spoke to him after the game. The medical team is not too worried about him, and more than anything, they say it's close to just a contusion. So I expect it to be okay."

Postecoglou said, "I still felt that we did not reach the level we should have shown today. Losing another player does not help, and that is the precarious situation we are currently trying to navigate carefully."

He is focusing all his attention on the Europa League final. He explained that even if Kulusevski had not been injured, he had no plans to bring in Dominic Solanke or Richarlison. Postecoglou emphasized, "Last time we played on artificial turf, two calf injuries occurred in the next match. They were Brennan Johnson, Richarlison, and James Maddison. So I had no intention of putting those players at risk today."

In this match, Postecoglou used winger Wilson Odobert as an attacking midfielder. He explained, "It was an unavoidable choice," adding, "He has played in that position before. I didn't want to expose other players who had played in the last match."

He remarked on the stigma of the 20th league loss, saying, "I know. And I also understand that people are constantly talking about this loss record. I can understand that we would have had a much better result if we hadn't had to navigate this situation. So, whether they understand or not, they can blame us; I just focus on the fact that our performance was not good."

He added, "I think we could have done better. Our level of performance fell far short of what it should have been. It is my responsibility to resolve this."

He also spoke about Son Heung-min's return from injury. Postecoglou said, "I was glad to give him a chance to play in the match. I hope to give him more playing time in the next game against Aston Villa. It would be good if he could return, join the team, and be available to play."

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