Published: August 15, 2021 8:29 pm
Last Updated: August 15, 2021 8:41 pm
A fascinating debate erupted between the pundits on Sky Sports this evening, on the back of Tottenham’s downing of Manchester City.
Son decides it
The final fixture of the opening round of Premier League action was of course played out a short time ago.
The clash in question saw Spurs welcome Man City to North London, for a highly anticipated showdown.
A number of major talking points surrounded the action in the capital ahead of kick-off, the most noteworthy of which understandably came in the form of Harry Kane’s future.
Tottenham’s talisman has been tipped for a move to the blue half of Manchester throughout the summer, with his subsequent omission from the hosts’ squad to face the Citizens having therefore given rise to widespread scrutiny.
When the 90 minutes were said and done on Sunday evening, though, it was Kane’s strike partner at Spurs who ultimately stole the headlines.
After being slipped in down the right early in the 2nd-half, Heung-min Son cut inside to bend home the game’s only goal, courtesy of a pinpoint left-footed strike:
Sensational from Son! 👏
He just loves scoring against Manchester City! ⚽
Clinical counter-attack from Tottenham, and the champions trail in North London…
📱 Follow #TOTMCI: https://t.co/3vIIzFdMSJ
📱👉 Download the @SkySports app
📺 Watch live on Sky Sports PL pic.twitter.com/vpZuLoJUKz— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 15, 2021
‘We call him a saint’
As outlined above, however, on the back of the action coming to a close at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the 90 minutes themselves quickly took a back seat once more, as the subject of Kane’s future was brought swiftly back to the fore.
During Sky Sports’ post-match coverage, meanwhile, the discussion surrounding Spurs’ star man subsequently gave rise to a fascinating exchange between Micah Richards, and fellow pundits Graeme Souness and Gary Neville.
The former has of course long been accused of singling Paul Pogba out for over the top levels of criticism, a subject which Richards was keen to draw attention to.
Despite not calling Souness out by name, the ex-Manchester City defender called into question why Kane’s blatant efforts to engineer a move away from North London this summer have not been met by the same kind of response as the persistent exit speculation drummed up by Mino Raiola, Pogba’s agent:
Check out the exchange, which has since given rise to widespread discussion across social media, below:
🗣 “Kane’s not turned up for training and we call him a saint, Pogba’s never said he wanted to leave and he’s getting abuse.”@MicahRichards @GNev2 and Graeme Souness argue about the treatment of Paul Pogba’s future compared to Harry Kane pic.twitter.com/JADAyN0Gue
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 15, 2021
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester United | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 2 | Chelsea FC | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Liverpool FC | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Everton FC | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | Brentford FC | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | Watford FC | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | Leicester City | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Manchester City | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Newcastle United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | West Ham United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Aston Villa | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 14 | Burnley FC | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 15 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 16 | Southampton FC | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 17 | Arsenal FC | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 18 | Crystal Palace | 1 | -3 | 0 |
| 19 | Norwich City | 1 | -3 | 0 |
| 20 | Leeds United | 1 | -4 | 0 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 3 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 1 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 1 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 1 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 1 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 1 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United | 1 |
| Alonso, Marcos | Chelsea FC | 1 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 1 |
| Ayling, Luke | Leeds United | 1 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 1 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 1 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 1 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 1 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 1 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 1 |
| Fred | Manchester United | 1 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 1 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 1 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 1 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 1 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 0 | 1 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 1 |
| Milner, James | Liverpool FC | 0 | 1 |
| Shelvey, Jonjo | Newcastle United | 0 | 1 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 1 |
| Kucka, Juraj | Watford FC | 0 | 1 |
| Gudmundsson, Johann | Burnley FC | 0 | 1 |
| Marcal, Fernando | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 1 |
| Moura, Lucas | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 1 |
| Grealish, Jack | Manchester City | 0 | 1 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United | 0 | 1 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 1 |
| Sema, Ken | Watford FC | 0 | 1 |
| Sanchez, Davinson | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 1 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 0 | 1 |
| Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 1 |
| Cantwell, Todd | Norwich City | 0 | 1 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Moder, Jakub | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 1 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 1 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 1 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 1 |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 1 |
| Cleverley, Tom | Watford FC | 1 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 1 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 1 |
| Dallas, Stuart | Leeds United | 1 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 1 |
| Lindelof, Victor | Manchester United | 1 |
| Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 1 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 1 |
| Iwobi, Alex | Everton FC | 1 |
| Bergwijn, Steven | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 |
| Adams, Che | Southampton FC | 1 |
| Bailey, Leon | Aston Villa | 1 |