Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has provided an explanation for his decision to haul star attacker Heung-min Son off prematurely during the club’s meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion.

South Korean international Son was handed a starting berth this evening, as Spurs welcomed Graham Potter’s Brighton to north London for an FA Cup 4th-round clash.

And the gifted wide-man went on to impress, looking lively throughout, and even setting up strike partner Harry Kane’s 2nd of the game courtesy of a trademark surging run through the heart of the Seagulls’ backline:

Son, though, as alluded to above, was pulled from proceedings by boss Antonio Conte with 20+ minutes remaining in proceedings.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Conte was therefore inevitably drawn on the reasoning behind his call.

And the Italian went on to cite Son’s recent spell on the sidelines as key, with Spurs’ head coach having evidently been wary of the possibility of his star attacker suffering a relapse if overworked:

Kane at the double

Son’s withdrawal prior to the 70th-minute, though, ultimately had little impact on the final scoreline at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

This comes with Conte and co., owing to a solid all-round display, having eventually emerged on the right side of a 3-1 scoreline.

The aforementioned Harry Kane proved the star of the show, bagging a brace either side of the interval, with under-fire right-wing-back Emerson Royal having also managed to find the net (courtesy of a hefty deflection), to guide Tottenham to an altogether deserved spot in the FA Cup’s Last-16.

 

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