Koreans in Europe: Son Heung-min gets goal, two assists as Spurs thump Aston Villa

Tottenham Hotspur romped to a 4-0 win over a 10-man Aston Villa on the road in Birmingham on Sunday as captain Son Heung-min picked up a goal and two assists to carry Spurs within two points of fourth place and a shot at the Champions League.

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min, right, celebrates scoring against Aston Villa with teammate Pedro Porro during a Premier League match at Villa Park in Birmingham, England on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

Tottenham Hotspur romped to a 4-0 win over a 10-man Aston Villa on the road in Birmingham on Sunday as captain Son Heung-min picked up a goal and two assists to carry Spurs within two points of fourth place and a shot at the Champions League.

It was a crucial match for both teams at Villa Park in Birmingham, with Villa sitting starting the game five points clear of Spurs in fourth place on the table. That gap has now been narrowed to two points and Spurs still have a game in hand over their midlands rivals.

It was a quiet first half, with neither team able to seriously threaten in front of goal, but Spurs quickly cut loose after the break.

Things suddenly clicked for the visitors in the 50th minute. Pedro Porro found Dejan Kulusevski in the Spurs’ half, the Swedish midfielder threading the ball through to Pape Matar Sarr on the run down the wing, with a final curling cross finding James Maddison in the box and then the back of the net.

Spurs pounced on another chance just three minutes later, Kulusevski winning a tackle and finding Son, who set up Brendan Johnson for a quick goal No. 2.

A flurry of substitution stopped the bleeding for Villa, but things took a turn for the worse in the 65th minute when John McGinn got a straight red for a violent tackle on Destiny Udogie.

Referee Chris Kavanagh shows a red card to Aston Villa's John McGinn during a Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur at Villa Park in Birmingham, England on Sunday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Spurs capitalized on the imbalance in injury time, Son picking up a goal of his own after a well-placed pass from Kulusevski and then immediately assisting Timo Werner two minutes later.

The end result was a decisive 4-0 win for Spurs and a sign that the Ange Postecoglou spark is worming its way back into the team as the crucial home straight nears.

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min scores against Aston Villa during a Premier League match at Villa Park in Birmingham, England on Sunday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

“The whole game, I was really pleased with the way we handled the whole day,” Postecoglou said after the game. “Obviously we knew it was a significant game coming here, tough venue, good opponent. I just thought, obviously the atmosphere here, they get behind their team.

“I thought with all that, the context of all that, first half we did really well, just to make them work hard more than anything else, they had to try to contain us, and the threats they had we snuffed out.

“I had a sense towards the back end of the first half that they were beginning to really tire a little bit. That was the message at half-time, just to persevere, stay calm, play our football, maintain the intensity, which is going to be important. And we did. We got off to a flyer, the quality of our football was excellent, to see out the game.”

Son earned man of the match honors for his performance on Sunday, which saw him record his 60th assist for Spurs. That puts him just seven assists behind Darren Anderton for the club’s all-time Premier League record, and two behind Christian Eriksen in second place.

He is now tied for fourth place in the league for goals this season, at 14, alongside Dominic Solanke of Bournemouth and Jarrod Bowen of West Ham. Manchester City’s Erling Haaland tops that list with 18.

Countryman Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers is also in the top-10, tied for 10th with 10 goals, but is likely to drop further as he is out for at least a month with an injury.

Spurs will be back in action in the Premier League on Saturday as they take on Fulham on the road in southwest London.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]