Richarlison was reluctant but Son Heung-min had other ideas. At the end of the latest comeback in Premier League history, Tottenham ’s players were justifiably immersed in wild celebration.
An afternoon that threatened to end Ange Postecoglou’s honeymoon flipped on its head after 97 minutes when the Brazil forward, sprung off the bench nine minutes from the end of normal time, headed home the equaliser with Spurs’ 27th attempt.
Two minutes later Richarlison, imbued with a new feeling of self-belief, set Dejan Kulusevski up for a winner that prompted a raucous reaction.
But as the Spurs players enjoyed their moment, Son was pushing reluctant Richarlison towards the crowd to make it clear the turnaround was down to him. Eventually he succumbed to the ovation after several nudges in the back from his captain.
It had been a difficult week for the Brazilian, a £60m signing from Everton last season. On international duty he broke down in tears and said that he would be seeking help from a psychologist owing to off-field issues. And it has not helped that he found himself on the Spurs bench having scored just once in the whole of last season.
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But upon returning to London, his clubmates rallied around him with Son saying he just wanted to put an arm around the centre forward.
“This is part of family,” Son said. “We always want to have a good time when we play with each other. Richi obviously had a very tough time, a tough season. But I was very, very happy. I was probably more happy than him.
“We need him as a team, he has really good quality but the confidence is massively different. For Richy today I just wanted to give him the big hug he deserved. He really showed his quality.
Son reacts during the comeback against Sheffield United. (Son Heung-Min was unable to break the deadlock on a day when Spurs had two dozen attempts but failed to make any count.)“Richy is a really strong guy, a good character and can always bounce back strong. But when you have a tough time you need good people around you.
“I always try to be a friend to him and if he needs anything then I can help him from my experience or my playing also. I think everyone is standing behind him helping. Today he did an amazing job for this club.”
The mention of family was intriguing considering the level of upheaval experienced by Spurs this summer.
It was spearheaded by Harry Kane ’s sale to Bayern Munich but of the XI that kicked off against a solid, frustrating Sheffield United only Son had been in north London for more than two years.
“Obviously you can’t compare to the real family but we are getting really, really tight in the changing rooms,” Son said. “Everyone is working for each other, everyone is running for each other, everyone is fighting for each other.
“If someone comes off you give a hand and everyone is happy to do that. That makes us really strong as a team and a group. We’re getting really close. We hope we can be even tighter than this.”
The spread of goalscorers is certainly helping. Richarlison became the seventh player to find the net in their opening five games and if he can rediscover that finishing touch consistently the Spurs family could be in for a fine season.
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