Haaland scored his 50th goal of the season from a spot-kick.
Pep Guardiola labelled forwards Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez an “incredible weapon” after the pair struck during a gritty 2-1 win at Fulham which returned Manchester City to the Premier League summit.
The champions have not been on top since February 17 and a determined Fulham side had to work hard to move above Arsenal.
Marco Silva’s men showed their resilience after Haaland scored his 50th goal of the season from a free-kick to put City ahead after just three minutes.
The Cottagers found an equalizer through Carlos Vinicius, but it was a touch of class from Alvarez that restored the visitors’ first-half advantage – a strike that eventually secured all three points for Guardiola’s men.
The City manager praised his strike partnership, with Haaland taking his league goals tally to a record 34 (alongside Alan Shearer and Andy Cole), the most goals scored in a single Premier League season.
“I was really impressed that he took the penalty with the mentality he has, strong and another goal helps us with Julian,” said Guardiola.
“Julian helps us all the time, he’s incredible, he gives us everything every time he plays.
“Quality goals and assists. Today with the penalty assist from Riyad (Mahrez) and after he did that… we have two strikers when we need people in the box.
“Those two guys are an incredible weapon that we have.
World Cup winner Alvarez has found opportunities somewhat limited this season, but Guardiola has hinted he could find a way to play with both the 23-year-old and Haaland.
“If you play almost all the matches to become world champions for Argentina. It has something unique,” he said.
“But we understood a lot that maybe there could be something in the future that would make them both play. Especially in tough matches.”
Fulham have been dealt a blow for the rest of the season with injuries to Tim Ream and Andreas Pereira.
Ream played every minute of Fulham’s Premier League campaign until he was forced out, while Pereira has been a key man since joining from Manchester United in the summer.
“It’s always hard to take when you get a defeat,” Silva said. “That happened this afternoon.
“But the first thing to mention is that the worst thing that happened was not the result, but the injuries to two players.
“Unfortunately, it looks like a serious situation for us in both cases.
“Tim Ream is probably out this season with a broken arm, hopefully Andreas Pereira is not that serious.
“That’s the worst thing because after Mitrovic (serving an eight-match ban) and the injury to Willian, with a small team like we have, it’s really hard to accept.
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