Ambipedal Son Heung-Min Is EPL's Top Scorer Excluding Penalties After Spurs Smash Aston Villa
Son Heung-min scored a clinical hat-trick to round off a superb Saturday for Tottenham Hotspur.
The Koran's triple inspired Spurs to a 4-0 win at Aston Villa, which came after top-four rivals Manchester United and Arsenal had both lost earlier in the day.
Two of Son's three goals came with his left-foot, which is officially his weaker foot.
But Son is statistically one of the most ambipedal players the Premier League has ever seen.
He has scored 87 EPL goals in his career. Of those, 48 have come from his right foot, 35 from his left and four with his head.
Opta published a stat after Son's second goal on Saturday to explain that Son's tally of left-footed goals was only bettered by one right-footed player in EPL history.
That player is Harry Kane, who did not add to his goals tally at Villa Park but set up Son's second strike and provided another assist for Dejan Kulusevski.
SEE ALSO: Aston Villa 0-4 Tottenham Highlights
Kane has been Tottenham's top scorer in each of their last seven seasons, but Son has more Premier League goals than the England captain so far this term.
In fact, only Liverpool's Mo Salah has scored more EPL goals than Son.
And if you were to discount goals that were scored from penalty kicks, Son is the Premier League's leading scorer this season.
One quarter of Salah's goals have come from penalties, but the Egyptian has still netted 15 times in open play, placing him second on the list below.
Most Premier League Goals Excluding Penalties In 2021/22
| Player | Team | Non-pen goals |
|---|---|---|
Son Heung-min | Tottenham | 17 |
Mo Salah | Liverpool | 15 |
Diogo Jota | Liverpool | 14 |
Sadio Mane | Liverpool | 12 |
Harry Kane | Tottenham | 10 |
Kevin De Bruyne | Man City | 10 |
Jamie Vardy | Leicester | 10 |
Cristiano Ronaldo | Man United | 10 |
Data correct as of April 9.
Son Heung-min pictured scoring with his left foot during Tottenham's 4-0 win at Aston Villa
IMAGO/PA Images/Nick Potts