Record-breaking Kane stars for Spurs
Harry Kane broke the record for English Premier League goals in a calendar year as his hat trick helped Tottenham thrash Southampton 5-2 yesterday.
Kane scored twice in the first half at Wembley Stadium before completing his treble after Dele Alli and Heung-min Son underlined Spurs’ complete control.
Each goal broke new ground for Kane; his first took him clear of Alan Shearer’s 36 Premier League goals in 1995; the second saw him overtake Lionel Messi as the player from Europe’s five major leagues to have the most goals (56) for club and country in 2017; and the third gave him a record sixth Premier League hat-trick in a calendar year.
‘‘It was hard not to think about it going into the game being level,’’ Kane said. ‘‘As always, I wanted to win the game first and foremost but of course I wanted to score as a striker. To get that goal early on and get that record was a great feeling and I could enjoy the rest of the game.’’
A fourth victory in five league matches briefly moved Spurs back into the top four, though they returned to fifth after Liverpool thumped Swansea City 5-0 in the late kickoff.
With much of the pre-match buildup focusing on Kane’s quest to break Shearer’s record, Spurs wasted little time giving its leading scorer the chance.
Christian Eriksen’s cross found Kane in the opening moments but the centre forward could find only the side netting. However, the same combination gave Spurs the lead in the 22nd minute as Kane headed in Eriksen’s set-piece.
He had his second six minutes before the break as Eriksen, Alli, and Son combined to set up an easy finish for Kane.
The providers got their reward after the break as Alli curled in
from the edge of the box before setting up Son to make it 4-0 just two minutes later.
Sofiane Boufal pulled a goal back for Southampton in the 64th only for Kane to complete his hat trick with a calm lobbed finish over Fraser Forster three minutes after.
Elsewhere, Manchester United lost more ground to league leader Manchester City with a second straight draw. After conceding a last-second draw to Leicester on Sunday, United came from two down at halftime to draw with Burnley 2-2 in the last minute.
Substitute Jesse Lingard scored twice for United.
Chelsea eased past Brighton 2-0 as Alvaro Morata scored on his return from suspension.
Watford ended a run of six games without a win as it came from behind to defeat Leicester 2-1.
Three goals in the last 10 minutes saw Bournemouth and West Ham draw 3-3, extending the Cherries’ winless run to eight games.
Huddersfield and Stoke drew 1-1, and Alan Pardew was still without a win after six games in charge of West Bromwich Albion after a goalless draw with Everton.