EPL

Man City star Haaland wins Premier League Golden Boot again

By Sports Desk May 19, 2024

Erling Haaland has won the Premier League Golden Boot for a second straight season.

Manchester City striker Haaland finished with 27 goals from 31 appearances this season, finishing five goals ahead of Chelsea attacking midfielder Cole Palmer, who emerged as a surprise contender after leaving the Etihad Stadium for Stamford Bridge ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

Haaland scored a single-season record 36 goals in his debut year in England and while he did not match those numbers this time around, he ultimately prevailed with a comprehensive five-goal advantage over Palmer.

Newcastle striker Alexander Isak was in third place with 21 goals. There was a three-way tie for fourth place on 19 goals between Dominic Solanke, Phil Foden and Ollie Watkins.

Mohamed Salah (18 goals) and Son Heung-min (17) were also prominent high finishers, with Bukayo Saka and Jarrod Bowen joined on 16 by Jean-Philippe Mateta on the final day of the season when he netted a hat-trick in Crystal Palace's 5-0 win over Aston Villa.

While Haaland claims award glory, it was Foden (two) and Rodri who scored the goals as Man City beat West Ham 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to secure a historic fourth successive Premier League trophy.

But Haaland's goals had been crucial to getting City into a title-winning position.

The 23-year-old started the season with a bang, scoring eight goals in his first six top-flight appearances, including a hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Fulham in early September.

While he battled an injury and a brief mid-season dip in form, doubles against Manchester United and Chelsea kept the Norway forward in contention.

And Haaland ultimately pulled away from his Golden Boot rivals in the closing stages of the campaign.

The striker scored four times in the 5-1 home win over Wolves this month to all but end the contest even before his pivotal double against Tottenham on Tuesday put Man City on the brink of title glory.

Haaland matches the likes of Harry Kane, Salah and Robin van Persie as players to win the Golden Boot in consecutive seasons.

Thierry Henry has won the most Golden Boot crowns with four, while Kane, Salah and Premier League record goalscorer Alan Shearer all have three apiece, with Haaland now just one behind that group.

The Playmaker of the Season award for the most Premier League assists went to Aston Villa striker Watkins.

As well as scoring his 19 goals, Watkins racked up 13 assists in a fine individual season, helping Villa to Champions League qualification.

He is the first Aston Villa player to win the award since it began in the 2017-18 season.

Watkins finished two assists ahead of Palmer (11), who comes second in both awards, while Kevin De Bruyne was part of a large group in a tie for third with 10 assists.

Man City's De Bruyne is a three-time winner and came close to topping the creative standings again despite missing much of the season through injury.

The Golden Glove winner is Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, who finished with a final tally of 16 clean sheets.

He is the Gunners’ first winner of the award since Petr Cech also kept 16 clean sheets for the Gunners in the 2015-16 season. Wojciech Szczęsny is another former Arsenal winner.

Everton keeper Jordan Pickford was second to Raya with 13 shutouts.

Those two shot-stoppers did battle on the final day, as Arsenal won 2-1 against Everton, but it was not enough to stop the celebrations for Haaland and City.

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    But despite that, he was not going to hit the panic button, with his side second in the Premier League table and five points behind leaders Liverpool.

    "We are fragile at the moment, we could not defend properly. We started well, struggled to score and then conceded. Then the situation is more difficult," he told Sky Sports after the match.

    "I've been here as a player, maybe not as a manager, first three games at Barcelona we lost. [In the] last eight years, the results have been there, it would be a mistake to change the approach.

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    Guardiola is by some distance City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies at the club, including each of the last four Premier League titles.

    His side visit league leaders Liverpool next week and could trail them by eight points by the time kick-off comes, with Arne Slot's side playing a day after City this weekend.

    "I don't know what will happen this season, but not for one second will I not believe in these players," said Guardiola.

    "There is no team in the world that can sustain success for eight, nine, 10 years in a row.

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    On the individual performances of his players, Guardiola lamented the fitness issues that his side has faced in recent weeks.

    "Chances were there. The moment they create the chances, the build-up, we couldn't handle the duels like normal. Now we're struggling a little bit," he told BBC Sport.

    "It cannot happen. When you play top level teams, we can concede chances but it's part of process. In our situation, it's a bit tougher.

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    "Of course, Rodri is important, but we knew that for many months. But [John] Stones can only play 45 minutes, Jack [Grealish] has been injured many times, Kevin [de Bruyne] two months and five months.

    "We have to come back and freshen our minds. The season is so long, many things can happen."

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    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola acknowledged that he is in new territory following their 4-0 home defeat to Tottenham on Saturday, which was their fifth on the bounce.

    But despite that, he was not going to hit the panic button, with his side second in the Premier League table and five points behind leaders Liverpool.

    "We are fragile at the moment, we could not defend properly. We started well, struggled to score and then conceded. Then the situation is more difficult," he told Sky Sports after the match.

    "I’ve been here as a player, maybe not as a manager, first three games at Barcelona we lost. [In the] last eight years, the results have been there, it would be a mistake to change the approach.

    "There are no fairytales in life and sport, sometimes you have to live through these situations. You have to accept it. You can't blame each other, stay together, continue to do what we have done.

    "Run away? Absolutely not, we have to stand up more than ever. What will define us is when we fail, we stand up and face it."

    Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies at the club including each of the last four Premier League titles.

    His side visit league leaders Liverpool next week and could trail them by eight points by the time kick-off comes, with Arne Slot's side playing a day after City this weekend.

    "I don’t know what will happen this season, but not for one second will I not believe in these players," said Guardiola.

    "There is no team in the world that can sustain success for eight, nine, 10 years in a row.

    "Of course everything is not fine, but what we try to do is analyse it, let’s go to next game and see what happens."

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    "Chances were there. The moment they create the chances, the build-up, we couldn't handle the duels like normal. Now we're struggling a little bit," he told BBC Sport.

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    The England international, who joined Tottenham from Leicester City last year, has now scored five goals and created three assists in the Premier League this season. 

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