Premier League: Man City’s Haaland wins Player of the Month award for August

London, Sep 16

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland on Friday won the Premier League Player of the Month award for August.

Having joined the Club from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, the Norwegian international has enjoyed a sensational start to life at the Etihad and scored nine goals in August alone.

The 22-year-old claimed a brace of goals on his debut, helping City secure a 2-0 win at West Ham on the opening day of the season. He then struck again in the 3-3 draw at Newcastle before recording back-to-back hat-tricks in City's victories against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

The striker became only the sixth player to score hat-tricks in consecutive Premier League appearances and the first to achieve the feat since Harry Kane in 2017. His nine goals in his first five appearances were the most in the competition's history, breaking the record of eight previously held by Mick Quinn and Sergio Aguero.

"I am delighted to win this award for the first time -- it was an incredible start of the season for the team and I am grateful to everyone who voted," Haaland said in a statement.

"We all wanted to hit the ground running this season, so winning four games out of five was a great start for us in what is the most challenging competition in the world. I am happy to have played my part by scoring goals.

"What's important is the result and to help the team. Hopefully, I can continue to support the team, make our fans happy with our performances and carry on our strong start to the season," he added.

Haaland is the first player to win the award in his first month in the competition since Bruno Fernandes did so for Manchester United in February 2020.

The Norway international fended off the challenge of fellow nominees Pascal Gross, Gabriel Jesus, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Martin Odegaard, Nick Pope, Rodrigo Moreno and Wilfried Zaha to claim the prize.

--IANS