Gary Lineker reacts as Erling Haaland equals Premier League goal record after early goal in Manchester City's fixture against Fulham

Tottenham Hotspur icon Gary Lineker has lauded Manchester City striker Erling Haaland after he scored his 34th Premier League goal of the season.

Haaland netted a second-minute penalty in the Cityzens' clash with Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday (April 30). That took the Norwegian frontman's tally to 34 goals in 29 league games. He has now scored the most goals in a Premier League season and still has six more games to add to that tally.

Lineker, who bagged 67 league goals during his time with Spurs, lavished praise on Haaland, tweeting:

"A 50th goal of the season for the remarkable (Erling Haaland)."

Haaland's early effort against Fulham also means that he has now scored 50 goals in 44 games across competitions. It's an astounding feat given that he only arrived at the Etihad last summer.

It comes as no surprise to his teammate Kevin De Bruyne, though, as the Belgian has backed Haaland to end his career with 800 goals. The Manchester City midfielder said in January (via the Guardian):

“Erling is so obsessed with goals. He already has about 200 goals, so he can probably go to 600, 700 or 800 if he stays fit and does the things that he does. Erling is a top-level striker."

Pep Guardiola's men are looking to leapfrog Arsenal at the top of the league with a win against Fulham. A win will mean they go a one-point lead over their title rivals, with the Gunners not playing till Tuesday against Chelsea.

Haaland has been instrumental in Manchester City's incredible form recently. He was on the scoresheet and provided two assists in his side's 4-1 thrashing of Arsenal on Wednesday (April 26). Guardiola's side are unbeaten in 17 games across competitions.

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola puts Erling Haaland in same bracket as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Pep Guardiola compares Haaland (left)'s goalscoring to Ronaldo and Messi's.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has bagged 185 goals in 227 games during his career. He's still at a young age, with years ahead of him to score and break more records at the Etihad.

Guardiola has boldly claimed that Haaland is operating on the same level as legendary attackers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi (via TeamTalk):

“As a top scorer, we lived two incredible decades with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but he (Haaland) is on that level. He scores a lot of goals."

Haaland does have a long way to go to match Ronaldo and Messi's goalscoring feats. The former has netted 713 goals in 934 games, while Messi has scored 709 goals in 870 games.