Tottenham’s Son Heung-min becomes all-time S. Korean scoring leader in Europe

The attacking ace for Tottenham Hotspur netted two goals in the Premier League club’s 4-0 victory over Red Star Belgrade in their Group B match of the UEFA Champions League at Red Star Stadium in Belgrade on Wednesday (local time). Son now has 123 goals in his European career, breaking a tie with former Bundesliga star Cha Bum-kun’s mark of 121 for most by a South Korean player on the continent.

Son moved past Cha by converting a Dele Alli feed in the 57th and picked up his second goal four minutes later.

Son has seven goals in 14 matches at all competitions this season, including five in four Champions League contests.

Son was playing with a heavy heart, after his hard tackle on Everton’s Andre Gomes led to a fractured dislocation of the Portuguese player’s right ankle last Sunday. The visibly distraught Son, who was shown a straight red card, was inconsolable in the aftermath and reportedly remained in a state of shock Monday. But Tottenham won an appeal against England’s Football Association over Son’s three-match ban in the Premier League, and the player also made the trip to Belgrade for the Champions League contest.

After scoring his first of the match, Son brought his hands together in an apparent gesture to wish Gomes a fast and complete recovery.

Son has also established a new personal-high with five goals in a single Champions League campaign. He has now scored in three straight group matches, and Tottenham sit in second place in Group B with seven points after four matches. That’s five behind Bayern Munich, who have already locked down a knockout spot.

While a member of Bayer Leverkusen in the 2014-2015 Champions League, he had five goals, but two of them came in the qualifying playoff to get into the main event.

With the Spurs, Son had four goals each in the 2017-2018 and the 2018-2019 tournaments.

The two-goal performance in Belgrade also earned Son a nomination as the Player of the Week. He’ll be up against Real Madrid forward Rodrygo, Borussia Dortmund defender Achraf Hakimi and Paris-Saint Germain goalkeeper Keylor Navas.