Mauricio Pochettino has said Son Heung-Min’s exit from the Asian Cup was a big relief after the South Korean helped Tottenham beat Watford.
His words, “Of course he was disappointed to lose the quarterfinal against Qatar — he wanted to deliver his best for his country and win the Asian Cup,” said Pochettino. “But in the same time I need to be honest — I’m happy he’s back because he’s helping us to try and win, and that is so important.
“For me, it was too much [effort for him]. It wasn’t the plan to play with him for the full 90 minutes but how the result was, you know in that moment I talked with Jesus [Perez] and I said, ‘Maybe we need to take a little bit of a risk to keep him playing.’
“He finished very tired, with some cramp. We’re going to see if he can recover for the next game. If he’s ok maybe he’s going to be in the starting XI — if not, on the bench. For sure if we need him, he’s going to help the team. That’s one circumstance more [that we need to deal with].
“It was an amazing effort, a great goal. He showed energy and I’m so happy with his performance, but more happy because he showed massive commitment with the team.”
“Normally I never celebrate goals but today I felt a bit of freedom to celebrate because we deserved to win.
“I’m so happy because Fernando has been working so hard in the last four games with Harry Kane out. He’s working so hard for the team, and to help the team to win three points today is a massive thing. Always it builds the confidence in a striker.
“When you are competing with Harry Kane, or behind Harry Kane — one of the best strikers in the world — always it’s difficult. Always you need time. But in all this time he’s been a fantastic professional and always was pushing and helping the team.”
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