Son Heung-min scored Tottenham’s only goal in a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday. More importantly, it was his 20th league goal, making him the highest scoring Asian in English Premier League history. Son, a 25-year-old South Korean, passed former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-Sung, who scored 19 goals from 2005-2012.
Son’s record-breaking goal came in the 64th minute at Wembley. After calling for a pass at the top of the 18-yard box, Crystal Palace eventually cleared the ball right to Son, who curled in a wonderful effort with his left foot. (1:29 in the video below.)
Son was delighted to score in front of a number of family and friends who were in the crowd. Despite breaking the record of his fellow South Korean and his idol, Son said he hasn’t yet reached like level that Park reached with United.
“I have broken the record, but I still have a long way to go to catch Park,” Son told South Korean media. “I scored, but good players do more than that.”
Sonny reflects on his record-breaking afternoon at Wembley and a big three points against Crystal Palace.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 5, 2017
The Premier League’s highest-scoring players from each continent are:
- Europe: Alan Shearer, 260 goals*
- South America: Sergio Aguero, 129 goals
- Central/North America: Dwight Yorke, 123 goals
- Africa: Didier Drogba, 104 goals
- Australia/Oceania: Mark Viduka, 92 goals
- Asia: Son Heung-min, 20 goals
* — EPL's all-time leading scorer
In honour of Son Heung-min becoming the highest scoring Asian in #PL history, let's see the best from around the world...
— Premier League (@premierleague) November 5, 2017