Son Heung-min becomes Tottenham's all-time Premier League assists leader

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min celebrates scoring their second goal at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, England, Dec. 15. Reuters-Yonhap

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min celebrates scoring their second goal at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, England, Dec. 15. Reuters-Yonhap

With two helpers in his latest match, Son Heung-min has become Tottenham Hotspur's all-time leader in assists in Premier League play.

Son scored a goal and set up two others in Tottenham's 5-0 rout of Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium in Southampton, England, on Sunday (local time).

The captain of Spurs scored the 2-0 goal in the 12th minute and then assisted Pape Sarr's goal in the 25th minute that put Tottenham up 4-0.

Son then had his second assist of the match on James Maddison's goal during the first-half stoppage time.

Those two dimes gave Son 68 for his career in Premier League action, sending him past Darren Anderton, who played for Spurs from 1992 to 2004, to the top of Tottenham's all-time list.

Tottenham scored all five of their goals in the first half, and Son, despite being subbed out at the start of the second half, was named the Man of the Match in online fan voting.

Tottenham improved to 23 points with this victory, which also snapped their five-match winless skid in all competitions — a draw and two losses in the Premier League, and two draws and a loss in the UEFA Europa League.

In an interview posted on Tottenham's website, Son said the club had been in "a tough moment" and he credited his teammates for stepping up.

"I am very, very pleased to have these teammates around me. Everybody played really good parts," Son said. "To get a result like this is very, very helpful. We deserve to celebrate this victory but I think we have to prepare so well for the next game."

Son said he was "very proud" of his latest accomplishment but added he wants to keep pushing for an elusive trophy for Tottenham.

"I am still hungry. I always want to improve," he said. "It's not important to talk about individual stuff. I am very proud, of course, but I think everyone has to work for one aim. The club and the fans deserve it, and we're working on it."

Southampton remained in last place with five points and fired their head coach Russell Martin after the loss.

After Maddison put Spurs on the board 37 seconds in, Son doubled the visitors' lead with a left-footed shot from the center of the box after a cross had gone off the body of a Southampton player.

Son found Sarr for his first assist of the match, and then earned his second assist when Maddison received a through ball from the skipper and scored from a tough angle. (Yonhap)

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