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Tottenham striker Harry Kane broke the record for the most Premier League goals in a calendar year by heading his 37th of 2017 against Southampton.
His second goal, also coming in the first half at Wembley, was his 55th in all competitive games for club and country this year. That moved him one goal ahead of Barcelona's Argentine master Lionel Messi and Paris St Germain's Edinson Cavani, making him the top goalscorer in world football in 2017.
The England international met Christian Eriksen’s 22nd-minute free-kick to give Spurs a 1-0 lead at Wembley and surpass Alan Shearer’s 22-year-old Premier League record.
Shearer managed his 36 goals in 42 games while playing for Blackburn in 1995, while Kane, who has missed only four league matches this year, needed just 36 appearances to go one better.
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Kane’s impressive haul includes five top-flight hat-tricks and he was quickly congratulated by the man whose record he took.
Shearer tweeted: “You’ve had a magnificent 2017 HKane. You deserve to hold the record of most premierleague goals in a calendar year. Well done and keep up the good work.”
Former Arsenal forwards Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie each came close to beating Shearer's tally in recent years, scoring 34 and 35 respectively in 2004 and 2011.
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