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Son Heung-min celebrates with his teammates after scoring the winner for Tottenham against Manchester City. (EPA/Yonhap News)

Son Heung-min, 29, was the hero of Tottenham's opening match, in a win that brought a big smile to debuting manager Nuno Espirito Santo's face.

In a 2021–2022 English Premier League (EPL) opening match held Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Son led his team to a 1-0 victory over defending champions Manchester City with a late deciding goal.

With the league's first goal, Son received the highest point total and moved to the top of the King of the Match listing. For newly arriving manager Nuno, it was a sweet taste of victory for his debut match.

With the team missing big gun Harry Kane, Son was picked as striker at the head of a 4-2-3-1 lineup.

Early on, Man City seemed to have the advantage under manager Pep Guardiola. But Tottenham began striking back midway through in a push spearheaded by Son and Lucas Moura, a combination boasting speed and an ability to penetrate defenses.

In a counterattack 27 minutes into the first half, Son attempted a left foot shot on a pass from Steven Bergwijn. Forty minutes in, he completed a right foot shot on a pass from a counterattacking Moura, but it was thwarted when it hit one of the other team's defenders.

Tottenham's new manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, led his team to victory over defending champions Manchester City on Sunday. (Reuters/Yonhap News)

In the end, it came down to a magnificent left foot shot 10 minutes into the second half. On a counterattack, Bergwijn got the ball to midfield, where he passed it over to Son as he swept in to the right. From the right of the penalty area, Son evaded Man City's Nathan Ake and landed a powerful left foot shot that reached the left corner of the other team's goal.

Tottenham went on to hold off subsequent offensives by Man City to clinch the victory. For the 50,000 fans packing the stadium, it was an exhilarating win.

Son's goal Sunday brings his individual total against Man City to seven, including four in the regular league and three in the UEFA Champions League. His total of 22 goals last season — including 17 in the EPL — had raised hopes for many more to come in the new season.

After the match, Son said, "Obviously, we want to start well in an interview with the foreign press. With the fans finally, just an incredible performance. Everyone worked so hard to get these three points."

"We know Man City are a really good team. We prepared really well, we worked hard in preseason and we showed [it] on the pitch," he added.

He went on to say that he had missed the fans and was playing for them.

By Kim Chang-keum, senior staff writer

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