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[이데일리 스타in 이석무 기자] Heung-min Son (30, Tottenham Hotspur) conquered the 20-goal mark in a season for the first time since his professional debut. Now, he is aiming to become the first Asian player to become the top scorer in the top five European professional football leagues.
Son Heung-min scored the opening goal in the 11th minute of the second half of the 2021-22 English Premier League (EPL) round 36 away match against Liverpool at Anfield, Liverpool, England on the 8th (Korean time).
Heung-Min Son, who started as a left-handed striker in the second line of the 3-4-2-1 formation, received a pass from teammate Ryan Sessegnon from the left flank and calmly finished with a left footed shot. Tottenham’s team, Tottenham Hotspur, could not keep the first goal until the end and drew 1-1, but Son Heung-min’s performance was absolutely brilliant.
Son Heung-min, who set the record for most goals in a single season in a European league by a Korean player in the previous match, set a record of 20 goals in a single season for the first time in a European league with this goal.
Son Heung-min has already scored the 18th and 19th league goals in the 35th round against Leicester City on the 1st. Former national team coach Cha Bum-geun broke the record for the most goals scored by a Korean player in a European league in a season, surpassing the 17 goals he recorded with Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga in the 1985-86 season.
The English Premier League is also known as one of the top five leagues in Europe. He also broke the record for most goals scored by an Asian player in a single season across Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1, and Italian Serie A.
Son Hong-min is continuing his challenge towards a bigger goal. He is the top scorer in the EPL. Son Heung-min, who is currently in second place in the league in scoring, added a goal in a match against scoring leader Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, 22 goals). By narrowing the gap with Salah, who could not add a goal that day, by two goals, he increased the possibility of becoming the first Asian player to become the top scorer.
Heung-Min Son has three games left. It’s not easy, but closing the two-goal gap in three games isn’t an impossible goal. If Son Heung-min becomes the top scorer in the EPL, he will become the first Asian player to become the top scorer in Europe’s top 5 leagues.
According to Opta, which specializes in soccer statistics, Son Heung-min scored 12 goals and created 17 attack points in the EPL in 2022. In both divisions, they are showing off their peak skills to the point where they are ranked first in the league. In particular, he has scored 9 goals in his last 7 league matches, and he was able to score multiple goals (two or more goals in a game) in 3 of them.
On the other hand, Salah has scored only two goals in their last 7 matches against Manchester United (Liverpool 4-0 win). If Son Heung-min continues his distinctive scorching in the remaining three games, he is expected to become the first Asian player to become the top scorer in the EPL.
If Son Heung-min scores just one more goal from the remaining three matches, it is also on par with the record for most goals scored by an Asian player in a season in the European First Division. The current record in this division is held by Iran national striker Alireza Jahanbakhsi (Feyenoord). Jahanbaksi became the first Asian player to become the top scorer in the European First Division by scoring 21 goals in 33 matches in the Dutch Eredivisie League in the 2017-18 season while playing for AZ Alkmaar.