Slow season for Haaland? - Man City forward wins Golden Boot

"This is supposed to be a slow season for Erling Haaland and he's still top scorer," former Tottenham and England midfielder Jermaine Jenas told BBC Match of the Day earlier this month.

And now it's official.

Manchester City and Norway forward Haaland has won the 2023-24 Premier League Golden Boot awarded to the leading scorer in England's top flight.

Haaland finished the campaign on 27 goals, five more than nearest rival Cole Palmer, the Chelsea and England forward.

Having won the Golden Boot in his first season at City, Haaland is the first player to win the award outright in back-to-back seasons since Tottenham's Harry Kane.

England captain Kane scored 25 goals in 38 games in 2015-16 before following it up with 29 in 30 in 2016-17.

Haaland has scored more than one-third of Manchester City's Premier League goals since joining from Borussia Dortmund after completing a £51.2m transfer in June 2022.

After winning the league with 94 goals last season, City did so this season with 96.

Haaland, 23, has scored a remarkable 63 times in 65 league appearances.

It has not been totally straightforward for him over the past nine months, though. Despite his goals propelling City to a historic fourth successive league title, Haaland has had his critics this season, while he missed 10 league and cup games in December and January after fracturing his foot.

"All those Premier League strikers thought they had a chance for the Golden Boot and Haaland just went into overdrive," added Jenas.

In April, former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, speaking on Sky Sports, said Haaland was "in front of goal, the best in the world, but for his general play, he's almost like a League Two player".

Keane was speaking after City's 0-0 home draw to Arsenal on 31 March left Pep Guardiola's side third in the table, three points behind leaders Liverpool with nine games to go.

Guardiola responded to Keane's comments by calling Haaland the "best striker in the world", while former Premier League striker Chris Sutton said: "The League Two stuff, the criticism of him for that, was total nonsense."

Sutton added: "He was brought in for a specific role. To degrade him and suggest he is a lower league player is total nonsense and unfair on Erling Haaland."

The draw with Arsenal left Haaland without a goal in five games for club and country but he finished the season with nine goals in seven league games.

"He had a dip in form that lasted about twelve and a half minutes," said former England captain Gary Lineker on MOTD.

"Everyone was saying 'he's not the same you know' and I thought 'yes he is, it'll happen, it'll change quickly'."

Of Haaland's 27 Premier League goals, 25 were scored from inside the penalty area, four were headers and seven came from the penalty spot.

Excluding penalties, Haaland still finished leading scorer in the Premier League with 20 goals - one ahead of Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins and City team-mate Phil Foden.

"All the best strikers in the history of the game - outside maybe Andy Cole - have taken penalties," former Manchester City and England forward Daniel Sturridge told Sky Sports.

"Haaland's numbers... that's stuff you do when you're at school. It's a goal a game. That's not what you do in the Premier League in your second season.

"We have to give him the utmost respect and credit for what he has done."

Seventeen of Haaland's 27 goals came in the second-half, with 12 between minutes 61 and the final whistle.

He scored two Premier League hat-tricks in 2023-24, including four goals against Wolves on 4 May, and ended the season with 41 for club and country - including five against Luton in the FA Cup.

In addition to his goals, Haaland has provided a further five Premier League assists this season while Sturridge believes there is more bad news for City's title rivals in 2024-25.

"Haaland will only get better," he said.