Son Heung-min and Harry Kane set new Premier League goal record

Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min and Harry Kane are becoming the best duo in history setting a new record for most goal combinations in a single season in the English Premier League (EPL).

Son helped Kane’s heading goal 31 minutes into the second half of the 27th round of the EPL 2020-2021 against Crystal Palace held on Monday in London, contributing to Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-1 win. The duo scored 14 goals together – nine for Son and five for Kane – this season in the EPL, breaking the 26-year-old record held by Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton who scored 13 goals at Blackburn Rovers during the 1994-95 season.

With the duo’s total goal record in the EPL standing at 34 currently, they are only two goals away from the record set by Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba of Chelsea. Son and Kane’s current record is five goals more than No. 3 record by Sergio Agüero and David Silva of Manchester City.

Tottenham Hotspur’s duo made the 13th goal in the 17th round of the EPL against Leeds United on January 2 tying the record with Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, but had to take a step back due to Kane’s absence from the 21st and the 22nd rounds resulting from an ankle injury. With Kane’s return, the duo is making a comeback. The two will likely break the EPL’s total goal record this season as the team has 11 games left.

At Tottenham Hotspur, Kane often plays the role of a front-line attacker while Son plays as a winger. Kane can take advantage of Son distracting central defenders by moving forward from sides to the center and Son utilizes an empty space created by Kane drawing out central defenders. Son’s speed to quickly move into an empty space and Kane’s ability to stand against defenders are amplifying such an effect. The combination of Lampard who was a midfielder with outstanding striking power and pass ability and Drogba who was a front-line striker with physical stamina and good shooting ability also created synergy by utilizing the space created by each other.


Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com