MY ACCOUNT
Son Heung-min was lost for words with which to hail Harry Kane after the Tottenham duo set a Premier League record in the 4-0 thrashing of Leeds United.
First-half goals from Matt Doherty, Dejan Kulusevski and Kane had Antonio Conte’s side in cruise control at Elland Road on Saturday.
Not satisfied with just a goal to his name, Kane delivered an inviting pass over the top of Leeds’ shaky defence in the 85th minute, with Son racing through before finishing with ease.
It was the 37th time that the Spurs pair have directly combined for a top-flight goal since Son’s arrival from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015.
That link-up saw them surpass the long-standing Premier League set by Chelsea pair Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.
It was also the 20th time Kane and Son have directly combined away from home in the Premier League, Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg their nearest challengers in second with a tally of 16.
South Korea international Son struggled to find the words to describe his attacking partner after another masterful performance.
“What can I say more about Harry? I think any compliment, I’m gone,” he said. “I can’t say any more words about him. You can say ‘superb’. You can say ‘phenomenal’. It’s not enough for me.
“I’ve played together with him for a long time and I’m still looking at him and thinking, ‘Wow, this is unbelievable’, you know?
“So I think the words are not enough for me. He’s just an unreal player. I’m really happy to work with him every day and playing together is a big honour.”
Kane endured a lean spell of scoring form at the start of the 2021-22 season after seemingly having his head turned by interest from defending top-flight champions Manchester City.
The England captain found the net just once in his first 13 games of the new Premier League season, but has since returned seven goals in his last 11 league outings and Son continued in his praise for his team-mate.
“When you think a striker is always scoring goals and a number 10 is also making assists, he can do both for two or three seasons,” he added.
“He wants to improve for himself. This is his ability, he’s so good to watch. He can play number 10, number nine. Whatever we need. To have a striker like this is massive.
“He’s doing so well, we’re glad to have him and we can still help him as well to get many goals.
“He’s a striker and he’s still hungry for goals and big things as a team. We need to help him as well, work for him, create chances for him. This is a team thing.”
Kane and Son, though, are yet to lift a trophy with the north London club, with Spurs currently sat seventh in the Premier League – five points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, who have played twice more.
Conte’s side are still in contention for the FA Cup, in which they face Middlesbrough away in the fifth round on Tuesday, and Son acknowledged his side will have to battle.
“It’s not just Harry, everyone wants to win. Everyone does,” Son continued. “To win a trophy you need to suffer a lot.
“I play for the win. Obviously I want to enjoy playing football but at the end of the day, there’s a winner and a loser.
“This game is a long way from the FA Cup final but everyone, every team wants to win. But who suffers more I think wins.
“It means a lot for me. I’m going to work hard and play hard for the team, for myself, for the club. I think it means a lot. I can’t say what it means to win a trophy for this club. It’s going to be incredible.
“But we need to suffer a lot.”
