Son Heung-min (33, Tottenham Hotspur) actively contributed to Tottenham's victory.

Tottenham defeated Manchester United (Man U) 1-0 in the 2024-2025 season UEFA Europa League (UEL) single-match final at Estadio San Mamés in Bilbao, Spain, on the 22nd (Korea time). This marked their first title in 17 years since the League Cup in the 2007-2008 season.

Son Heung-min, who was on the bench, stepped onto the field as a substitute for Richarlison in the 67th minute. After being sidelined for a month due to a foot injury, he honed his game sense through two Premier League matches before this game. He played about 30 minutes against Crystal Palace on the 11th and started, playing over 70 minutes against Aston Villa on the 17th. Ahead of the Manchester United match, there was significant interest in whether Son Heung-min would be a starter in the local British media. Ange Postecoglou's choice was to keep him on the bench and field Richarlison instead.

The 'scorer of the winning goal' was Brennan Johnson. He dashed in to extend his foot to a cross coming from the left side in the 41st minute. The ball was deflected off Man U's Luke Shaw. Seeing the ball slightly change direction, Johnson quickly brought his foot to it. The ball was sucked into the Man U goal. Tottenham players embraced each other in celebration.

In the first half, Son Heung-min, who was sitting on the bench and cheered at Johnson's goal, was active upon entering the game in the middle of the second half. In the 81st minute, he attempted to create a shooting opportunity by utilizing a counterattack. However, he couldn’t secure the ball effectively during a defensive duel. He also took a free kick in the 85th minute. According to the European statistics site 'Footmob', Son Heung-min played for 23 minutes (excluding stoppage time), touched the ball 13 times, had a passing success rate of 33% (2 successful out of 6 attempts), a dribble success rate of 100% (1 successful out of 1 attempt), made 1 defensive action, recovered the ball 3 times, and had a ground ball contest success rate of 40% (2 successful out of 5 attempts).

The British media 'The Standard' evaluated Son Heung-min, saying, "He moved defensively to secure Tottenham's victory," giving him a rating of 6. The media mostly gave a rating of 6 to the players who came on as substitutes that day.

'The Standard' gave an 8 to Johnson, who scored, stating, "It was an accurate finish following a surge into the box. He put pressure on Luke Shaw with his relentless pressing and quick breakthrough, invigorating the attack by shaking up the defense throughout the match."

'The top rating' went to Van de Ven for his contribution in preventing a goal.

Van de Ven made a spectacular save in the 68th minute, during which Tottenham led 1-0 by a narrow margin.

Here’s how it went down. Capitalizing on the moment when Tottenham goalkeeper Vicario failed to punch the ball correctly due to overlapping positions with a teammate, Man U's Hojlund attempted a header shot from straight on in front of the goal. Though it was a shot made while the goal was left unguarded, it didn’t result in a goal. Van de Ven, who had rushed back to guard the goal in place of the goalkeeper, extended his foot to clear the ball.

'The Standard' stated, "He cleared Hojlund's header in front of the goal, preventing a scoring crisis. He displayed calm and stable performance in the defensive line, excelling in both aerial ability and positioning," awarding Van de Ven a score of 9.

Meanwhile, after the victory, Son Heung-min was captured on the broadcast screen embracing the coaching staff, visibly emotional and shedding tears. He also greeted fans while draping the Korean flag over himself.

At last, Son Heung-min shed the label of 'winless'.

Having debuted professionally in 2010 through Hamburg in Germany and then moving to Bayer Leverkusen before joining Tottenham in 2015, Son Heung-min has faced repeated near misses for titles. He finished 2nd in the Premier League during the 2016-2017 season and, in the 2018-2019 season, he was runner-up after losing to Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) final. He also could not surpass Manchester City in the EFL Cup final in the 2020-2021 season. The only title Son Heung-min had experienced until this game was the gold medal he won with the South Korean national football team at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang. Finally, Son Heung-min lifted a trophy with his club team, realizing his dream of winning after 15 years as a professional.

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