Tottenham Hotspur won a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace in the 19th round of the EPL in the 2022-23 season held at Selhurst Park in London, England at 5 am (Korean time) on the 5th. With the big win that day, Tottenham maintained 5th place and narrowed the gap with Manchester United to 2 points.
Before the game, it was argued that the compatibility between Perisic and Son Heung-min did not match. Britain’s ‘Sky Sports’ said on the 3rd 안전놀이터 (Korean time), “Son Heung-min, the top scorer last season, is in the worst form this season,” and pointed out that all records have fallen since he played an active part in the 2016-17 season. Here, a diagnosis was made that Perisic could be the cause of Son Heung-min’s sluggishness.
‘Sky Sports’ said, “There was no Perisic in the game where Son Heung-min scored a goal. Left wingback Perisic advances more than his predecessor, Sergio Reguilon, and enters the opponent’s box a lot. It is a space that Son Heung-min likes, but Perisic will come and play. This has decreased. Son Heung-min has fallen back relatively.” There was criticism like this, but Perisic and Son Heung-min came out to the game once again.
Perisic did his part steadfastly. He matched well with Son Heung-min and attacked the Palace defense well. He went up at the right time and led the side attack, and was involved in the important opening goal by assisting Harry Kane’s goal in the 3rd minute of the second half. Even after that, Perisic showed good performance. He was also stable defensively and even recorded two successful crosses and four successful long passes.
Perisic, who added help that day, reached 5 assists. Within Tottenham, he ranked first in joint assists with Dejan Kulusevski. In terms of the overall EPL, it is tied for fourth place. It is next to Kevin De Bruyne (9 assists), Bukayo Saka, and Christian Eriksen (more than 6 assists). Along with Kulusevski, Perisic ranks with Martin Odegaard, Bernardo Silva, Alex Iwobi and Andrew Robertson.
Whenever a disappointing evaluation comes out, Perisic is overturning it with improved game contents and attack points. It proves why manager Antonio Conte keeps sending him as a starter.