Haaland scores 50th goal of season as Man City beat Fulham and go top of Premier League

Norwegian makes it a half century in all competitions as Guardiola's side leapfrog Arsenal and take over at summit

Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring against Fulham. AP

Erling Haaland scored his 50th goal of the season in all competitions as Manchester City beat Fulham 2-1 on Sunday and replaced Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

The Norwegian's third-minute penalty also took him to 34 Premier League goals for the campaign and makes him level with Andy Cole and Alan Shearer's all-time record in the competition.

City were made to work for the three points, though, as Carlos Vinicius's powerful strike made it 1-1 after a quarter of an hour.

But a superb 25-yard finish from Julian Alvarez in the 36th minute proved the winner as Pep Guardiola's side move ahead of Arsenal by one point having played a game fewer than the London club.

It was the first time City had occupied the top spot since mid-February as they now target a Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble.

“It was a very important win for us today,” said Alvarez. “Every game from here on out is a final. Especially after the win against Arsenal, we'll be able to catch up. We need to keep this going.

“This is where we wanted to be at the start of the season. Everyone's put in really good work and now we've reached the top we need to defend it. Every game is a final for us and everyone's going to pull together to make that final effort.”

Haaland has reached his 34 league goals in only 30 appearances since his summer move from Borussia Dortmund, with the 22-year-old potentially having another six games to play in the domestic competition.

Cole's tally with Newcastle United and Shearer's with Blackburn Rovers also came in a 42-game top-flight season, unlike the 38 games that are played now.

Haaland had already overtaken Mohamed Salah's record of 32 goals in a 38-game season with his strike in the 4-1 win against Arsenal on Wednesday.

He also now becomes the first player with an English top-flight club to score 50 goals since Aston Villa's Tom Waring in 1931.

“Before Winston Churchill was Prime Minister? Wow,” said manager Guardiola. “Sounds a long time ago. Congratulations to Erling. The best goals to help us achieve what we want still is there.”

The Gunners will look to retake top spot when the return to action on Tuesday against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium, while City are at home to relegation-haunted Leeds United next Saturday.

City got off to a flying start at Craven Cottage when Tim Ream, who has been a mainstay of the Fulham defence this campaign, was judged to have brought down Alvarez in the box and Haaland made no mistake with his powerful penalty kick.

The goal all but killed any attacking threat from Fulham, who reverted to a defensive formation to try to curb City's attacking threat.

Jack Grealish had a low drive saved by Leno in the 14th minute, but Fulham found an equaliser against the run of play moments later.

Vinicius, who had only scored two goals previously this season, thrashed a fine finish past Ederson in the 15th minute.

The forward, who has been criticised by the home fans in recent weeks for his lack of end product, was in the right place after Harry Wilson flicked the ball down into his path, and he made no mistake with his left-foot strike.

Fulham were dealt a blow in the 20th minute with the loss of on-field captain Ream, who slipped trying to make a tackle and landed awkwardly on his arm.

City maintained their pressure on the Fulham defence, with Leno called into action again to tip a Grealish effort on to the bar and Antonee Robinson denying Alvarez at the far post.

The visitors restored their lead on 36 minutes, with a stunning curled strike into the corner from Alvarez. The Argentinian held off the defenders to create an opening outside the box before taking his shot.

“The game was so tight until the end, we could not expect anything differently,” added Guardiola. “This amount of games is a lot but we knew that after we beat Arsenal at home that winning these types of games is really important. The players behaved amazingly.”