Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min struck late to secure a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Luton Town to bolster his side's Premier League top-four ambitions on Saturday.
Son started and finished a flowing Spurs move in the 86th minute to leave relegation battlers Luton with nothing to show from a spirited display in north London.
Tahith Chong gave Luton a surprise early lead with Son being denied by the woodwork soon afterwards. Tottenham equalised in the 51st minute when Issa Kabore scored an own goal and the hosts' pressure was eventually rewarded with Son's clincher.
160 and counting...
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 30, 2024
Son takes his place among the top five goalscorers in our history 🤍 pic.twitter.com/1DdfFzHe0m
Tottenham moved into fourth place with 56 points, ahead of Aston Villa on goals scored after 29 games, though the latter were in action later at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Luton had moved out of the relegation zone during the international break courtesy of Nottingham Forest's four-point deduction for breaking financial rules, but defeat meant they slipped back below the Midlands club into 18th place.
Tottenham's last game before the international break was a 3-0 drubbing at Fulham and when they fell behind against Luton they were in danger of dropping more points.
But South Korean Son again proved their saviour with his 15th league goal of the season.
"The three points is massive for us. We don't want it to always end like this, it could be nicer when we have it earlier to make it three points," said Son, whose 160th Tottenham goal put him fifth on the club's all-time scorers' list.
"It was a really tough. It was an intense game."
HARD WORK
Ange Postecoglou's Spurs side were forced to do it the hard way after Luton went ahead in the third minute following a counter-attack which ended with Ross Barkley picking out Chong to shoot past Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Luton had a huge let-off when Son went around keeper Thomas Kaminski but watched his shot strike both posts before Pape Matar Sarr's follow-up was cleared off the line.
Tottenham sent on Brennan Johnson at halftime and the Welsh winger quickly made his presence felt as his low cross towards Timo Werner was netted by Luton's Kabore.
Johnson thought he had put Spurs in front when his close-range effort was millimetres from crossing the line, although Luton still posed the occasional threat with substitute Jordan Clark forcing a sharp low save by Vicario.
Luton were hanging on for a point but eventually buckled as Son began a move deep in his own half and raced forward to meet Johnson's assist and drive a shot past Kaminski to claim the points.
"There was a bit of anxiety around the place, every game now for every club there will be because there's extra significance, but I thought the lads stayed calm," Postecoglou, whose side go to West Ham United in midweek, told reporters.