New Delhi: Tottenham Hotspur and England striker Harry Kane eased past Lionel Messi as the highest goal scorer for 2017 after scoring a wonderful hat-trick in Spurs’ 5-2 win over Southampton on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old who took his goal tally for 2017 to 36 with another brilliant hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Burnley, to draw level with former Newcastle and England great Alan Shearer, needed less than a half to surpass the record that had stood standing since 1995, when Shearer had netted 36 goals in 42 matches for Blackburn Rovers.
While his first goal from a close-range saw him surpass the former English Premier League legend, Kane’s second took him one notch higher than Lionel Messi who had scored 54 goals in this calendar year, for both club and country.
Creating new calendar records at the tender age of 24 is not something aspiring players dream off, but Kane has not just achieved it but done so in fewer matches. His 39 Premier League goals this year came in just 36 appearance six less than Shearer’s 42, while his total calendar year 56 goals came in 52 outings for both club and country, four less than second best Lionel Messi who scored 54 in 64 appearances.
It was however his third goal that was equally special as the first and second, sealing a second hat-trick in as many matches in the space of four days, that too in 11 months rather than 12 if his ‘August goal drought’ is taken into account.
The three goals against ‘The Saints’ also made him the fifth player in the EPL to notch up eight hat-tricks bringing him on levels with both Arsenal legend Theirry Henry and former Ballon D’Or winner Micheal Owen – only Robbie Fowler (9) and Alan Shearer (11) have scored more hat-tricks in the competition.