Micky van de Ven (24, Tottenham Hotspur), a defender born in 2001, can indeed be considered a key contributor in breaking Son Heung-min's title drought. He showcased a remarkable performance, preventing one goal.

Tottenham won 1-0 against Manchester United (Man U) in the single-match final of the 2024-2025 season UEFA Europa League (UEL) at Estadio San Mamés in Bilbao, Spain, on the 22nd (Korean time), securing their first trophy in 17 years since the 2007-2008 League Cup.

"The hero of the final goal" is Brennan Johnson. He dashed in after seeing a cross coming in from the left side at the 41st minute of the first half and stretched out his foot. The shot was deflected off Man U's Luke Shaw. As Johnson quickly positioned his foot to redirect the slightly bent ball, it was sucked into the net. The Tottenham players embraced each other in joy.

The player who made a crucial contribution, just like Johnson, is van de Ven.

Van de Ven delivered a super save in the 68th minute while Tottenham led narrowly 1-0.

The situation was as follows: Taking advantage of a moment when Tottenham goalkeeper Vicario failed to properly punch the ball due to overlapping positions with a teammate, Man U's Hojlund took a header shot right in front of the goal. Although it was a shot made with Vicario out of position, it did not result in a goal. Van de Ven had rushed in to guard the goal in place of the goalkeeper and managed to stretch out his foot to clear the ball from the empty net.

British media 'The Standard' reported, "He cleared Hojlund's header in front of the goal and prevented a scoring crisis. He exhibited calmness and stability in the defensive line, standing out in both aerial ability and positioning" and gave van de Ven a top rating of 9.

After the match, van de Ven told 'TNT Sports,' "I saw the ball coming in. I thought it had to go to the goal and considered how to block it, but I just cleared it," expressing his joy and describing it as "an unbelievable feeling."

Had it not been for his super save, Tottenham had a good chance of struggling to find a way to play after conceding an equalizer.

Thanks to van de Ven's performance, Son Heung-min's title drought has finally come to an end.

Son Heung-min, who debuted in the professional stage in 2010 through Hamburg, Germany, joined Tottenham in 2015 after a stint at Bayer Leverkusen. He has come close to winning several times, finishing second in the Premier League in the 2016-2017 season and being a runner-up to Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) final in the 2018-2019 season. In the 2020-2021 season, he also failed to overcome Manchester City in the EFL Cup final.

The only title Son Heung-min had experienced until that day since his professional debut was the gold medal won at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games as a member of the South Korean national football team.

Finally, Son Heung-min lifted a trophy with his club team. He fulfilled his dream of winning after 15 years of professional debut.

On this day, Son Heung-min, who was on the bench, entered the field after being substituted for Richarlison in the 67th minute. He had been sidelined for a month due to a foot injury but honed his match sense over two Premier League games before this match. He played about 30 minutes against Crystal Palace on the 11th and started against Aston Villa on the 17th, playing more than 70 minutes.

Ahead of the match against Man U, there was significant interest in whether Son Heung-min would start. Coach Ange Postecoglou's initial choice was to keep him on the bench and deploy Richarlison.

During the first half, Son Heung-min, who was sitting on the bench, cheered as he saw Johnson's goal. After entering midway through the second half, he ran diligently. He attempted to create a shooting opportunity in the 81st minute during a counterattack. However, he couldn't properly control the ball during a defensive struggle.

According to European statistics site 'Footmob,' Son Heung-min played for 23 minutes (excluding stoppage time), made 13 touches, achieved a pass success rate of 33% (2 successful out of 6 attempts), achieved a 100% dribble success rate (1 successful out of 1 attempt), made 1 defensive action, had 3 recoveries, and succeeded in 40% of ground ball contests (2 successful out of 5 attempts).

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