Shearer, Messi beaten
London: Harry Kane toppled Alan Shearer’s 22-year-old record for the most Premier League goals in a calendar year and overtook Lionel Messi as the top scorer in Europe by scoring a hat-trick in Tottenham Hotspur’s 5-2 win over Southampton, here Tuesday.
England forward Kane, 24, also set a Premier League record by scoring six hat-tricks in a calendar year as he capped another ruthless display in front of goal to complete his treble in the 67th minute, his second in as many games.
Kane headed in Christian Eriksen’s free-kick in the 22nd minute to overtake Shearer’s 36 goals in 1995 with Blackburn Rovers, a tally he had equalled by scoring three times in Spurs’ 3-0 win Saturday at Burnley.
He then increased Tottenham’s advantage by finishing off a sweeping team move with a tap in from close range in the 39th minute, edging ahead of Barcelona forward Messi as the top scorer in Europe for 2017. It was his 55th goal for club and country in all competitions, beating Messi’s 54. The Argentine will not be able to match the feat as he has no games before 2018.
Kane then hit a second treble to make it 5-1, rounding off the year with 39 Premier League goals and 56 strikes in all competitions for Spurs and England. Dele Alli and Son Heung-min scored Tottenham’s other goals while Sofiane Boufal and substitute Dusan Tadic netted for Southampton in an action-packed game.
Kane was immediately congratulated by Shearer. “You’ve had a magnificent 2017 @HKane. You deserve to hold the record of most Premier League goals in a calendar year. Well done and keep up the good work,” the former England and Newcastle United great wrote on Twitter.
