Harry Kane grabbed another hat-trick and broke the record for the most Premier League goals scored in a calendar year as Tottenham thrashed Southampton at Wembley.

The Spurs and England striker headed home his 37th league goal of 2017 on 22 minutes to surpass Alan Shearer's landmark, which was set during his time at Blackburn in 1995.

Kane then added two more either side of half-time to bring his total for the year - for both club and country - to 56, two more than Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi.

Before Kane's third, Dele Alli had made it 3-0 on 49 minutes when he drilled in from outside the area, before setting up Son Heung-min two minutes later, who powered a confident finish past Fraser Forster.

Southampton, without top scorer Charlie Austin, got off the mark when Sofiane Boufal struck low under Hugo Lloris, and Dusan Tadic added a second with a lofted effort.

Despite a second-half recovery, Saints never looked like spoiling the Spurs party and have now gone a month without a win in the Premier League.

Spurs, meanwhile, stay fifth after Liverpool beat Swansea 5-0 in Tuesday's late kick-off.

It was an impressive display from Mauricio Pochettino's side, but the game will always be remembered for Kane's record-breaking day, as he cemented his status as one of the top flight's most prolific strikers.

Speaking about his 22-year record being taken, Shearer tweeted: "You've had a magnificent 2017, Harry Kane. You deserve to hold the record of most Premier League goals in a calendar year. Well done and keep up the good work."

Southampton had drawn three and lost three of their past six games and arrived at Wembley without two key players in Austin, who is injured and suspended, and Virgil van Dijk, who was left out of the squad again amid reports of a January exit.

They looked overwhelmed at times and contributed to Tottenham's dominance.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg fouled Danny Rose on the edge of the area and gave away the Christian Eriksen free-kick which led to Kane's opener.

And Nathan Redmond's mistake in the Spurs half gifted the hosts possession and their counter-attack finished with Son's strike for 4-0.

Southampton, three points above the relegation zone in 13th, were able to recover some pride as they twice beat a stuttering Lloris, but it was too little, too late.

Mauricio Pellegrino's side face more tough tasks ahead, with an away trip to Manchester United up next.

"We were a little bit unlucky because in the second half we were close to going 1-2 but once we conceded the third one the game was gone," said Pellegrino.

"I want to see a team with character fighting and playing for the ball. Sometimes you do well, sometimes you do not but the minimum is to show this from the beginning. The wrong thing is we waited until the Tottenham goal to react."

On Van Dijk's omission, the Southampton boss added: "We know that around Virgil there will be a lot of speculation. You will have to wait until January, I pick the best for my team right now. That is my decision."

While Kane will quite rightly dominate the headlines, there were some other stand-out performances for the hosts.

Alli ended his two-month goal drought in the Premier League when he turned on Oriol Romeu and struck a sweet strike from distance, while Son was rewarded for his all-round display with a well-executed finish.

Spurs now have five wins from their past six matches in all competitions, and Pochettino wants their form to continue into 2018.

"We are ambitious but I am happy that we finished the year in a very good way," said the Argentine.

"For next year? We must win - win every game. The mentality is so important for us."