Son's goal was his 11th of the season
Tottenham won their first Premier League game of 2020 by beating bottom-of-the-table Norwich at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs had gone three league games without scoring this year before Dele Alli struck just before half-time, turning in Serge Aurier's cross.
But Norwich hit back when Ryan Sessegnon brought down Max Aarons inside the box and Teemu Pukki fired the spot-kick beyond Hugo Lloris, who made his return after three months out with a dislocated shoulder.
Buoyed by that goal, the Canaries took the game to their opponents as they looked to snatch what would have been an unexpected but priceless win in their battle against the drop.
Todd Cantwell's cross was cut out with Pukki lurking unmarked inside the box before Cantwell lashed well over from the edge of the box.
And Tottenham got their second in the closing stages when Alli's deflected cross looped to the far post, where Son Heung-min was on hand to nod in.
Victory - Tottenham's first in the Premier League since beating Brighton on Boxing Day - means Jose Mourinho's side move up to sixth.
Norwich, meanwhile, remain bottom and six points adrift of safety.
Alli ends Spurs' long wait
The absence of the injured Harry Kane as the focal point of Tottenham's attacks has been telling, with Spurs having failed to score in the Premier League this year going into the game.
And, for more than 30 minutes, the home side once again looked destined to draw a blank.
Tottenham's build-up play was ponderous and on the few occasions they did manage to find gaps in the Norwich defence the chances were wasted, as Erik Lamela fired straight at Tim Krul and Son Heung-min drove into the sidenetting.
But, seven minutes before half-time, Alli provided the one moment of quality to break the deadlock. After 398 minutes and 48 shots, Spurs had finally scored their first goal of 2020.
The home side have the joint worst record for clean sheets in the Premier League - level on three with opponents Norwich - so a one-goal lead was always likely to leave Spurs fans nervous.
And their worries would prove founded as Norwich equalised with 20 minutes remaining, Pukki's penalty - his 11th goal of the season - looking to have done enough to earn the battling Canaries a hard-fought draw.
But Son, aided by a touch of fortune with the wicked deflection from Alli's cross, got the winner with 11 minutes to go and ensured Tottenham took three points that just about keeps them in the hunt for the top four.
It was not a great performance by Tottenham but they got the goal and the win, while a big positive was the return of goalkeeper Lloris. The France international had been out since dislocating his elbow against Brighton on 5 October and was a surprise inclusion in the starting XI for this game.
Lloris was largely untested and perhaps should have done better for Pukki's penalty having guessed the right way, but it will have been pleasing for Tottenham fans and Mourinho to see him come through the 90 minutes unscathed.
What next?
Attention switches to the FA Cup for both these clubs. Tottenham travel to Southampton on Saturday, 25 January (15:00 GMT), while Norwich are at Burnley at the same time.
More to follow.
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Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text
Line-ups
Tottenham
1Lloris
24Aurier
4Alderweireld
5VertonghenSubstituted forCarvalho Fernandesat 75'minutes
19R Sessegnon
18Lo Celso
8WinksSubstituted forDierat 56'minutes
11LamelaSubstituted forEriksenat 62'minutes
20Alli
7Son Heung-Min
27Lucas Moura
Substitutes
6D Sánchez
15Dier
22Gazzaniga
23Eriksen
28Ndombele
30Carvalho Fernandes
39Tanganga
Norwich
1Krul
2Aarons
6Zimmermann
5Hanley
3Byram
27TetteySubstituted forHernándezat 82'minutes
23McLeanSubstituted forStiepermannat 90+3'minutes
7RuppSubstituted forDrmicat 86'minutes
25Duda
14CantwellBooked at 47mins
22Pukki
Substitutes
11Hernández
12Lewis
18Stiepermann
19Trybull
20Drmic
24Amadou
33McGovern
Referee:
Chris Kavanagh
Attendance:
58,182
Match Stats
Home TeamTottenhamAway TeamNorwich
Possession
Home51%
Away49%
Shots
Home14
Away12
Shots on Target
Home3
Away2
Corners
Home7
Away3
Fouls
Home12
Away7
Live Text
Posted at
Match ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Norwich City 1.
Full TimePosted at 90'+7'
Second Half ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Norwich City 1.
Posted at 90'+5'
Christoph Zimmermann (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Posted at 90'+5'
Foul by Lucas Moura (Tottenham Hotspur).
Posted at 90'+4'
Attempt blocked. Lucas Moura (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Giovani Lo Celso.
Posted at 90'+3'
Foul by Marco Stiepermann (Norwich City).
Posted at 90'+3'
Serge Aurier (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the right wing.
SubstitutionPosted at 90'+3'
Substitution, Norwich City. Marco Stiepermann replaces Kenny McLean.
Posted at 90'+2'
Attempt blocked. Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Christian Eriksen.
Posted at 90'+1'
Attempt missed. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Lucas Moura.
Posted at 90'+1'
Hand ball by Sam Byram (Norwich City).
Posted at 89'
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Christoph Zimmermann.
Posted at 89'
Attempt missed. Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
Posted at 87'
Offside, Tottenham Hotspur. Hugo Lloris tries a through ball, but Lucas Moura is caught offside.
SubstitutionPosted at 86'
Substitution, Norwich City. Josip Drmic replaces Lukas Rupp.
Posted at 86'
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Max Aarons.
Posted at 83'
Corner, Norwich City. Conceded by Giovani Lo Celso.
Posted at 83'
Attempt blocked. Lukas Rupp (Norwich City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Teemu Pukki.
SubstitutionPosted at 82'
Substitution, Norwich City. Onel Hernández replaces Alexander Tettey.
Posted at 80'
Todd Cantwell (Norwich City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Posted at 80'
Foul by Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur).
Goal!Posted at 79'
Goal! Tottenham Hotspur 2, Norwich City 1. Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur) header from very close range to the bottom left corner.
Posted at 79'
Attempt blocked. Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is blocked. Assisted by Giovani Lo Celso with a through ball.
Posted at 78'
Attempt missed. Todd Cantwell (Norwich City) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right.
Posted at 76'
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Ondrej Duda.
Posted at 76'
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Max Aarons.
SubstitutionPosted at 75'
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Gedson Fernandes replaces Jan Vertonghen because of an injury.
Goal!Posted at 70'
Goal! Tottenham Hotspur 1, Norwich City 1. Teemu Pukki (Norwich City) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
Posted at 69'
VAR Decision: Penalty Norwich City.
Posted at 68'
Penalty Norwich City. Max Aarons draws a foul in the penalty area.
Posted at 68'
Penalty conceded by Ryan Sessegnon (Tottenham Hotspur) after a foul in the penalty area.
Posted at 68'
Lukas Rupp (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 68'
Foul by Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur).
SubstitutionPosted at 62'
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Christian Eriksen replaces Erik Lamela.
Posted at 61'
Max Aarons (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 61'
Foul by Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur).
Posted at 60'
Foul by Lukas Rupp (Norwich City).
Posted at 60'
Ryan Sessegnon (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 56'
Todd Cantwell (Norwich City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Posted at 56'
Foul by Serge Aurier (Tottenham Hotspur).
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Source: bbc.com