Son Heung-min has an impressive scoring record against Liverpool and previously turned down the opportunity to sign with Jurgen Klopp
Without Son Heung-min, Liverpool would have won the Premier League last season.
The South Korean, who finished level with Mohamed Salah for the Golden Boot with 23 goals, scored both at home and away against the Reds in a 2-2 draw in North London and a 1-1 draw at Anfield. The dropped points from the second meeting, in May, would ultimately cost Jurgen Klopp’s team the title by a single point to Manchester City.
Luis Diaz would equalize after Son’s opener, while the South Korean scored a late equalizer against Liverpool back in December. Without either strike, the Reds would have been crowned Premier League champions with an extra two points.
Of course, this is all ifs and buts, with Son’s strikes not the only decisive moments to consider in retrospect.
What if Liverpool had beaten Chelsea in August after Reece James was sent off on the stroke of halftime?
What if they hadn’t given up the lead twice in their 3-3 away draw with Brentford and 2-2 home draw with Manchester City? What if they hadn’t blown two-goal leads in their 2-2 home draws with Brighton and Chelsea?
What if Harry Kane had not been sent off in their 2-2 draw with Tottenham, or if Salah had not missed a penalty in their 1-0 loss at Leicester City?
What if VAR had awarded Everton a penalty against Manchester City for Rodri’s handball as Pep Guardiola’s team won 1-0? What if Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa had held on to a 2-0 lead away at Manchester City on the final day of the season, rather than losing 3-2?
So many sliding door moments that could have changed the course of Liverpool’s Premier League season. However, the fact that there were so many highlights the small margins that proved costly for the Reds in a campaign where near-perfection was required to dethrone Manchester City.
In reality, Klopp’s team has few complaints about their second-place finish, even if missing out on the title by a point for the second time in four years was difficult to swallow. Especially when they were forced to make up a 14-point deficit in mid-January, despite having two games in hand.
As a result, the only minor complaint Liverpool might have with those Son-inflicted dropped points at Anfield is that if they had won, they would have put even more pressure on City in the final games of the season. Guardiola’s men, however, rarely blink regardless of the stakes, as evidenced by their late comeback against Villa and their most recent title challenge against Arsenal.
Still, Klopp has reason to be sick of seeing Spurs’ South Korean forward. After all, he has four goals in his last eight Premier League starts against Liverpool, and five goals in five starts against Borussia Dortmund in Germany.
While he was unbeaten in the Bundesliga against Klopp during his time with Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen, it’s a different story in his meetings with the Reds.
After 13 meetings with Liverpool, Spurs’ infamous 4-1 victory in October 2017, in which he scored, remains the only time Son has ended up on the winning side against Klopp’s Reds. This run, of course, includes Tottenham’s defeat in the 2019 Champions League final.
Nonetheless, with nine goals from 16 starts in all competitions against Klopp’s teams, the South Korean is a danger-man who could derail their European hopes if he continues to score at Anfield on Sunday. And one that the German is well aware is nearly impossible to stop.
“I will be ready for the best Tottenham side possible,” Klopp told reporters ahead of Sunday’s game. “They were by far the best counter-attacking team in Europe for several years.”
“When you lost the ball, they only had to find Harry Kane and the next thing you know, Son is one on one with the goalie.” No idea how to properly defend that, best way to avoid losing
Is it any surprise, then, that Klopp wishes he had signed Son earlier in his career?
“One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in my life is not signing Son Heung-min,” he admitted to Korean news outlet KBS News last November. “Excellent player. He’s fantastic, a symbol of Korean football and one of the world’s best strikers.”
When Son left Hamburg in 2013, the German failed to sign him for Borussia Dortmund, instead opting to join Bayer Leverkusen in a €10 million deal.
“I desired to remain in the Bundesliga.” “Both Leverkusen and Dortmund wanted me,” the South Korean recalled later when explaining his decision to reject Klopp. “Both teams compete in the Champions League, but I expected Dortmund to use rotation.”
“I chose Leverkusen over Dortmund because of this.” At my age, it’s critical to play on a regular basis.”
Two years later, after scoring 29 goals in two seasons for Leverkusen, he signed for Spurs for £22 million in the same summer that Klopp left the Bundesliga. He is now a Tottenham Premier League legend, having scored 144 goals in 367 appearances over eight seasons. But, most importantly, no trophies.
Given Klopp’s admiration for Son, Liverpool has been linked with his services on occasion over the years. Despite being 30 years old, that ship appears to have long since sailed.
While the German may consider not signing the South Korean to be one of his “biggest mistakes,” Liverpool will have no regrets. After all, Son is the same age as their famous, now-defunct, attacking triumvirate of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and Salah.
Firmino would make the same move from the Bundesliga to the Premier League as Son, joining Liverpool for £29 million from Hoffenheim. After a slow start, due in part to injury, the forward was revitalized when Klopp took over as manager in October 2015 and inherited the Brazilian, and he hasn’t looked back since.
The 31-year-old is set to leave Anfield at the end of his contract this summer, having scored 109 goals and provided 72 assists in 360 appearances for the Reds.
Mane was signed from Southampton in the summer of 2016 for £34 million. Klopp had previously attempted to sign the Senegalese for Dortmund, as he had done with Son, but had decided against the move. He later admitted he should have punched himself for such a decision, and made sure to make amends at Anfield, righting a wrong he couldn’t with regard to the South Korean, once the 31-year-old became available.
Mane would score 120 goals and assist 38 times in 269 appearances for Liverpool before joining Bayern Munich in a £35 million deal last year.
Meanwhile, Salah joined Liverpool from AS Roma in the summer of 2017 for a fee of £43.9 million. He currently has 183 goals and 69 assists from 299 games, and the 30-year-old is already regarded as one of the club’s greatest players.
Under Klopp, the trio would help transform the Reds’ fortunes. While Firmino and Mane would help Liverpool regain their place in the Champions League, the addition of Salah would contribute to their transformation into one of Europe’s best teams.
Under Klopp, all three would win every major award on offer as the Reds were crowned champions of England, Europe, and the world.
To be honest, you could be forgiven for wondering what else Liverpool might have won if they had Son’s talents to complement their then-unstoppable front line. After all, he is a player who meets Klopp’s requirements.
However, aside from a few admiring glances, Kopites have never had to wonder what could have been when it comes to the South Korean. They are content with the hand that Liverpool has been dealt.
Son can only speculate on whether he has any regrets about his lack of silverware in comparison to his Reds counterparts. It is worth noting, however, that even if he had not rejected Klopp and Dortmund’s advances in 2013, he would not have followed the German to Anfield.
Similarly, it’s impossible to say whether Klopp would have renewed interest in Son’s services if he hadn’t left Leverkusen when he did. It’s all ifs and buts now, just like the South Korean’s impact on Liverpool’s title charge last year.
Son was a huge mistake for Klopp, but the Reds have no regrets. The South Korean could have been a part of this Anfield story, but instead he is just an admired foe, watching from afar as Liverpool won everything there is to win, including Europe’s biggest prize at his expense.
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