Kane sets Premier League mark with 39 goals in calendar year

Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane watches as he scores his sides 5th goal and his third of the game during their English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton at Wembley stadium in London. AP

LONDON — Harry Kane set the English Premier League record for goals in a calendar year, raising his total to 39 with a hat trick Tuesday (Wednesday Manila time) that led Tottenham over Southampton 5-2.

Kane headed in Christian Eriksen’s free kick in the 22nd minute, breaking the Premier League’s previous record of 36 set by Alan Shearer in 1995.

Eriksen, Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son combined to set up an easy finish for Kane in the 39th. Kane scored Tottenham’s final goal in the 67th, lobbing the ball over goalkeeper Fraser Forster for his record sixth Premier League hat trick this 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.”

Kane has played in 36 league matches this year, six fewer than Shearer’s 1995 total. The English forward has 57 goals this year for club and country, moving two ahead of Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Argentina for the most among players in Europe’s five major leagues

Alli curled in a shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 49th, then set up Son two minutes later for a 4-0 lead. Sofiane Boufal pulled a goal back for Southampton in the 64th and substitute Dusan Tadic scored in the 82nd.

“I want to congratulate Harry Kane. Massive achievement for him — well deserved,” Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said. “We are all so, so, so happy. It’s an amazing thing to celebrate.”

Spurs won for the fourth time in five league games and remaining one point behind fourth-place Liverpool, which routed Swansea 5-0.