Son Heung-min's 100th EPL Goal... Historic First for an Asian Player

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Son Heung-min (Tottenham) has reached a total of 100 goals in the English Premier League (EPL). This is the first record achieved by an Asian player.

On the 8th (Korean time), Son Heung-min scored a goal in the 10th minute of the first half, giving his team a 1-0 lead in the 2022-2023 EPL Round 30 home match against Brighton & Hove Albion at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, UK.

Starting as a left winger that day, Son Heung-min received a pass from Ivan Peri?i? and curled a right-footed shot from the left side of the penalty arc to shake the net.

This was Son Heung-min's 100th goal in his 260th EPL match. He set this great record in his eighth season after leaving Bayer Leverkusen in Germany in August 2015 and joining Tottenham.

So far, Son Heung-min is the 34th player to score over 100 goals in the EPL. He is the 14th player without English nationality and the first Asian player in history to achieve this.

With this goal, Son Heung-min tied with Matthew Le Tissier (retired) for 33rd place in all-time EPL scoring.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Son Heung-min reached 100 goals (50 assists) 2,757 days after scoring his EPL debut goal on September 20, 2015. Including his time in the German Bundesliga (41 goals), he has scored a total of 141 goals in European top leagues.

After scoring 4 goals in his first season, he scored 14 goals in the 2016-2017 season and consistently recorded double-digit goals up to the 2021-2022 season.

Last season, he exploded with 23 goals in 35 matches, becoming the joint top scorer of the EPL alongside Mohamed Salah (Liverpool). Son Heung-min is the first Asian player to win the EPL top scorer title.

If Son Heung-min scores just 3 more goals, he will be tied with Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr, 103 goals) for 32nd place in all-time EPL scoring.

Of Son Heung-min's 100 goals, 55 were scored with his right foot, 41 with his left foot, and 4 with his head. He has scored only 1 goal from a penalty kick.

He has recorded a total of 3 hat-tricks in the EPL. In September 2020, he scored a record 4 goals in a single match against Southampton, and in April and September of last year, he scored 3 goals each against Aston Villa and Leicester City, respectively.

Over 8 seasons, the team that conceded the most goals to Son Heung-min is Southampton with 10 goals. Leicester City follows with 9 goals, Crystal Palace with 7 goals, and Arsenal with 4 goals.

[Image source=Yonhap News]