Belgrade (AFP) – Son Heung-min said he had repaid the support shown to him by teammates and fans by scoring twice against Red Star Belgrade, just days after being involved in an incident that saw Everton midfielder Andre Gomes break his ankle.
The South Korean’s red card for the challenge on Gomes in Sunday’s 1-1 draw was rescinded with the damage inflicted by the way the Portuguese midfielder fell after being tripped by Son.
Son left the field in tears and had to be consoled by Everton captain Seamus Coleman in the dressing room afterwards with teammates saying he was “devastated.”
However, he was still selected by Mauricio Pochettino for the trip to Belgrade and responded perfectly with two goals in four second half minutes as Spurs ran out 4-0 winners.
“Of course it was a really tough few days, but with our teammates I realised how lucky I am,” Son, who held his hands up apologetically after scoring, told BT Sport.
“Everyone kept me so strong. I still feel really sorry about this accident and this situation, but I had to focus for the team as well.
“I think this is my right answer to all the people who supported me.”
Victory was Tottenham’s first win away from home since a stunning comeback to beat Ajax 3-2 in Amsterdam in May to progress to last season’s Champions League final.
Pochettino’s men are 11th in the Premier League, already 10 points adrift of a Champions League slot for next season after 11 games.
However, they are well on course for the last 16 of this season’s Champions League as they moved four points clear of Red Star in second place in Group B.
“It’s so important to win this game,” added Son. “We had a good attitude and we played really well. It’s massive for us to take this confidence for the upcoming games
“We should know we can play so well in the away games as well. We should take the positives and bring these things to a few more away games.”
