Three awards handed out to Manchester City in a single day as Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland take glory

Manchester City received three awards in one day as the Football Writers’ Association, Premier League, and Champions League credited representatives of the club.

Erling Haaland kicked things off on Friday morning as the Norway international striker became the third Manchester City player in the last five years to receive the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year.

Scoring 51 goals across all competitions this season for Manchester City, 35 of which have come in the English top-flight to set a new record for a tally in a single season, Haaland received 82 per cent of the votes – the biggest margin since the Premier League began.

Joining Haaland in the top-five for this year’s award was Manchester City vice-captain Kevin De Bruyne – who ranked in fourth position behind Bukayo Saka (2nd), Martin Odegaard (3rd), and ahead of Marcus Rashford (5th).

Reacting to his latest achievement, Erling Haaland told ManCity.com, “To win the Football Writers’ Award in my first season in English football is an honour. I try every single day to be the best I can be, and to be recognised like this means a lot to me.

“I have loved my time at City so far – my teammates are incredible, and they provide me with the chances to score goals. I want to thank all of them, because I could not have won this award without them.

“I also owe so much to Pep and the team behind the team here at City. Everybody has been so good to me since I joined and I have never worked with such top professionals. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. It’s a real honour to have won this award. I am now focused on ensuring I finish the season as strongly as possible and helping City win trophies.”

The accolades would not stop there for Haaland however, as the 22 year-old also received his second Premier League Player of the Month award for the season after taking home the prize for the month of April.

The City striker registered a total of four appearances in the top-flight last month, scoring a staggering six goals and providing two assists – offering a goal contribution every 36.8 minutes for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Haaland told ManCity.com, “I am really happy to win this award for the second time this season – I am grateful to everyone who voted for me.

“We are in such a vital part of the season and winning all of our Premier League games throughout April was important. I am delighted to have helped the team by scoring goals and we just need to keep going until the end.

“Breaking the record for most goals scored in a Premier League season is something I am really proud of, but none of it would have been possible without all of my team-mates, the coaches and staff behind the scenes.

“Hopefully, we can continue our strong form until the end of the season so we can make our fans happy.”

Moving away from Manchester City’s outstanding number nine, and Kevin De Bruyne also received an accolade of his own on Friday, having won the award for the Champions League Goal of the Week following his stunning strike against Real Madrid.

The Belgian’s second-half thunderbolt puts Manchester City in a strong position to reach their second Champions League final, with the Spanish giants visiting the Etihad Stadium next week with the score finely poised at 1-1.