Antonio Conte emphasised the significance of rotation to Tottenham FC‘s overall campaign when replacement Heung-min Son came off the bench. Son’s 14-minute hat-trick was the difference in Saturday’s 6-2 hammering of Leicester. Son was put to the bench, having failed to score in Spurs’ first eight games, but he ignited his season with a magnificent cameo off the bench on the hour, sending in two trademark long-range efforts before tucking his third past the helpless Danny Ward. First-half headers from Harry Kane and Eric Dier, as well as Rodrigo Bentancur’s first Spurs goal, helped Antonio Conte’s side recover from Youri Tielemans’ retaken penalty in the sixth minute and James Maddison’s stunning acrobatic effort to lead 3-2 early in the second half.
Tottenham Hotspur got the worst possible start to preserve their undefeated domestic start after experiencing their first defeat of the season at Sporting Lisbon, with Davinson Sanchez’s unnecessary, clumsy tackle on James Justin earning Leicester a fourth-minute penalty. Hugo Lloris saved Tielemans’ original penalty, but Tottenham’s joy was short-lived. The retake was ordered when the Spurs goalkeeper was deemed to have moved off his line, and the Belgian made no error on the second effort to give the visitors the lead.
Son’s performance tied him with Chelsea’s Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for the second-fastest hat trick by a substitute in Premier League history, trailing Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who managed to score three goals in 10 minutes off the bench in an 8-1 win over Nottingham Forest in February 1999.
Winless Leicester’s terrible start to the season continues as a crushing sixth-consecutive loss left the Foxes stranded at the bottom of the table with only a single point through seven games as manager Brendan Rodgers faced mounting pressure. Leicester made three alterations from the 5-2 defeat against Brighton, with Wout Faes, Timothy Castagne, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall replacing Luke Thomas, Boubakary Soumare, and Kelechi Iheanacho.
Antonio Conte has a keen interest in Milan Skriniar, who Manchester United wants. The Lilywhites showed genuine ambition during the summer transfer window, with sporting director Fabio Paratici completing eight critical additions for the club. Spurs made big investments to support manager Antonio Conte, signing Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster, Yves Bissouma, Richarlison, Clement Lenglet, Djed Spence, Destiny Udogie, and Cristian Romero on permanent contracts. Spurs are reportedly in the running to acquire Inter Milan defender Skriniar, who is out of the agreement in June 2023. The in-demand centre-back is garnering interest from Real Madrid, Chelsea, and the north Londoners, with Conte describing his former Nerazzurri star as a “big fan.”
