Harry Kane breaks Alan Shearer's calendar goal record and passes Lionel Messi as top scorer in Europe in 2017

Kane is now the highest goalscorer for club and country in Europe in 2017

Jack de Menezes
Tuesday 26 December 2017 14:20 GMT
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Harry Kane celebrates his second goal for Tottenham against Southampton to become Europe's top goalscorer in 2017
Harry Kane celebrates his second goal for Tottenham against Southampton to become Europe's top goalscorer in 2017

Harry Kane has broken Alan Shearer’s 22-year Premier League goalscoring record after netting his 37th, 38th and 39th goals in the top flight in 2017, with the Tottenham Hotspur striker also becoming the top goalscorer in Europe for club and country after surpassing Lionel Messi’s tally.

The England international headed Spurs into the lead against Southampton in Boxing Say’s early kick-off in the 22nd minute as he connected with a Christian Eriksen free-kick from close range.

The goal saw Kane register his 37th in the Premier League this calendar year, beating Shearer’s record of 36 that came at a time when seasons were still 42 matches long.

But Kane was not done there as he struck again in the 39th minute to double the lead for Spurs and register his 55th goal in all competitions for club and country, which took him past Barcelona’s Argentina forward Messi and two clear of Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani.

To round off the afternoon, Kane followed addition goals from Dele Alli and Son Heung-min with his third to seal his eighth hat-trick of the year and his second in the space of four days.

Harry Kane’s year in number

  • Kane has scored 39 goals in 36 league appearances. Shearer played 42 in 1995 when he set the record.
  • The Spurs man scored 21 goals in the 2017 portion of last season and has 18 this term – ominously for the rest of the Premier League, that is twice as many as his eight by the turn of the year last season.
  • Kane's hat-trick against was his sixth of the year in the league. He struck three times in games against West Brom, Stoke and Hull last season and four against Leicester in May, as well as against Burnley last Saturday.
  • He has scored 20 times in home games and 19 away.
  • May was his highest-scoring month with eight goals - one in victory over Manchester United before a barnstorming finish to last season with seven in two games as Spurs beat Leicester 6-1 and Hull 7-1.

Most Premier League goals in a calendar year

1 Harry Kane, 39, Tottenham, 2017

2 Alan Shearer, 36, Blackburn, 1995

3 Robin van Persie, 35, Arsenal, 2011

4 Thierry Henry, 34, Arsenal, 2004

5= Ruud van Nistelrooy, 30, Manchester United, 2003

5= Les Ferdinand, 30, QPR/Newcastle, 1995

5= Alan Shearer, 30, Blackburn, 1994

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