Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane struck a second hat-trick in as many games to smash a 22-year-old Premier League scoring record and power the Lilywhites to an emphatic 5-2 victory over Southampton at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.
Needing only goal to overtake Alan Shearer’s record of 36 strikes in a calendar Premier League year, Kane scored a brace in the first-half itself, overtaking Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi for most goals in 2017 in the process.
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Nodding in Christian Eriksen’s whipped in free-kick from close-range in the 22nd minute, Kane would double his tally six minutes from time, with another tap-in after some good work from teammate Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son.
At half-time, Spurs were rampant and looking like they would score many more in the second-half.
Alli scored cracker early on in the second-half, before setting up Son for a one-on-one with Fraser Forster, which the Korean lapped up in the 51st minute to give the hosts a commanding 4-0 lead.
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Spurs’s perfect night was ruined, however, as influential midfielder Mousa Dembele was forced off soon after with what seemed like a hip injury and while the scoreline suggested one-way traffic, the Saints were threatening on the counter and got themselves back in the tie via Sofiane Boufal.
The mercurial winger beat Hugo Lloris on the near-post to give the visiting fans something to cheer for, but the result was put behind doubt when Kane registered his 8th hat-trick of the year and third of the season with a deft left-footed dink over Forster in the 67th minute.
Spurs would continue to enjoy chances in a manic second-half, but were unable to beat Forster again and in fact, the Saints got a consolation goal thanks to Dusan Tadic.
While the headlines will be about Kane, and rightly so, it was a great team performance from the Lilywhites, who climb into fourth spot in the league table, at least momentarily.
Liverpool, who host Swansea City in the late game on the night, can leapfrog Spurs if they beat the Swans at Anfield.