Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has expressed his pride after winning a second successive Premier League Golden Boot.
The Norwegian took to the Premier League by storm in his debut campaign at the Etihad Stadium and notched up a record-breaking 36 goals in just 35 appearances to claim his first Golden Boot award last season.
Haaland missed two months of the 2023-24 campaign due to injury, but he still managed to make 31 league appearances and score 27 goals, including nine goals in his final seven outings.
The 23-year-old memorably scored four goals in Man City's 5-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this month, while he also scored at least twice in six other league matches this term.
Haaland was unable to get his name on the scoresheet on Sunday, though, as strikes from Premier League Player of the Season Phil Foden (2) and Rodri helped Man City beat West Ham United 3-1 at the Etihad to clinch an unpresented fourth consecutive top-flight title.
Erling Haaland with his Golden Boot award 🥇 pic.twitter.com/ikQwi3FBIG
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 19, 2024
Haaland "proud" to receive "very special" Golden Boot
Haaland finished five goals ahead of Chelsea's Cole Palmer (22) to win the Golden Boot and is the first player to claim the award in successive seasons since Liverpool's Mohamed Salah in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
The striker is also the first Man City player to win the award more than once, with Carlos Tevez having shared the accolade with Dimitar Berbatov (20 goals in 2010-11) and Sergio Aguero (26 goals in 2014-15).
"To win the Golden Boot again is very special for me," Haaland told mancity.com. "I'm so proud to make my contribution to help this incredible team and my amazing teammates.
"I have to thank all my teammates for helping me to this award and the coaches and staff that work so hard.
"And a thank you to the fans who give me so much support and I always enjoy celebrating goals with you!"
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Haaland: 'Premier League is harder than I expected'
Although Haaland has made scoring goals look easy since moving to England, the striker has insisted that the rigours of Premier League football have been harder than he expected.
"[The Premier League has] been harder than expected," he added. "Every game, the way every game is not far away from a final. You come away somewhere and even at home you have to be 90 minutes. You can't relax after 45 minutes. Every game is so intense and tough."
On winning his second title and the club's fourth in a row, Haaland said: "It's fantastic, beautiful and I'm enjoying it.
"I think after we won at Spurs, we kind of knew we were going to do it. We come at home with the pressure and everything, I was confident.
"We had done a little extra [after the Club World Cup] because that's when it really matters. I'm happy."
Haaland, who has scored a total of 38 goals in 44 games across all competitions this season, will be looking to add to his tally when Man City lock horns with rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
Oliver Thomas
