Introduction
Harry Kane made his 300th Premier League appearance for Tottenham Hotspur away at Crystal Palace, and he marked the occasion by scoring twice.
In the process, he set several goalscoring records, and moved closer to another.
It was an indication that the England captain appears to be feeling no reaction to the disappointment of the World Cup in Qatar, where his missed penalty against France denied his side the chance to take that match to extra-time.
Records
Kane became the second player ever on to have scored on his 100th, 200th and 300th Premier League appearances. The only other man to have achieved this landmark is former Tottenham and Manchester United striker Teddy Sheringham.
He also beat Alan Shearer’s existing record of 196 goals in 300 Premier League appearances. Kane now has 198 to his name.
Greaves managed 266 between 1961 and 1970, but Kane could eclipse that in his next game, assuming he starts the FA Cup tie against Portsmouth.
In terms of all-time Premier League scorers, Kane is now third on the list.
Shearer finished his career with 260 Premier League goals, whilst Wayne Rooney ended with 208, which will be his next target.
It also means that Kane has now scored in his 11th successive calendar year.
No World Cup hangover
Anybody expecting Kane to have a World Cup hangover may be disappointed because this was his third goal since returning from Qatar. He now has 16 goals in all competitions this season and, whilst he may not match the goalscoring exploits of Erling Haaland, is well on track to reach the 20 premier League goals mark again.
Ironically, Kane almost joined Haaland’s club, Manchester City, 18 months ago.
Son also reaches a milestone
It was also a significant night for Kane’s team-mate Heung-min Son.
The South Korean striker – who played the Qatar World Cup with a face mask after dislocating an eye socket during a Champions League match – has been out of sorts this season, and had not scored since September. However, by netting the fourth, he pulled level with Sheringham’s 97 Premier League goals for Tottenham.
Only Kane, of course, is ahead of them both.
Tottenham needed Kane
It was a timely intervention by Kane, as Tottenham had not won since the Premier League returned after the World Cup break. They had come from two goals down to snatch a point away at Brentford, and then had lost at home to Aston Villa.
That defeat saw them booed off the pitch by the fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and calls for both the Board and manager Antonio Conte to be sacked.
Part of the reason for their problems was in defence. The defeat of Palace ended a streak of seven Premier League games in a row in which Spurs had conceded the first goal.
That record means that Kane often has to dig his team out of the problems they have created for themselves.
But if Kane can keep on scoring, then it might be enough to guarantee Tottenham a top four finish and Premier League football again, which will probably be enough to keep Conte in his job.
Next Up Arsenal
Kane’s form and Tottenham’s apparent revival is bad news for Arsenal, their North London rivals, who they play next in the Premier League on January 14th.
Kane has scored 14 goals in 17 games against the Gunners, the most by any player in the history of the North London derby, and scored from the penalty spot, in their defeat at the Emirates earlier in the season.
The only team he has scored against more often is Leicester City (19) and he will be licking his lips at the prospect of another encounter with the club with whom he was briefly on the books as a schoolboy.
Son, too, has a fine scoring record in derbies, so the news that both seem to have their scoring boots on again will hardly be greeted with relish by Arsenal fans.
They, of course, will not be slow when it comes to reminding them of that missed penalty in Qatar, although, mercifully Kane seems to have escaped the torrent of abuse on social media that Gunners’ player Bukayo Saka received after his missed spot-kick in the final of the Euros last year.
Cynics might argue that is because Kane is white.
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