"Amazing game for you" - Barcelona and Liverpool legend Luis Suarez praises Manchester City superstar for his brilliant performance against Manchester United

Former Liverpool and Barcelona forward Luis Suarez has joined a host of other footballing figures to shower praise on Manchester City striker Erling Haaland. The Norwegian bagged an amazing hat-trick for the Cityzens against Manchester United during their Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium yesterday (October 2)

All eyes were on Haaland as he stepped onto the pitch in his first-ever Manchester derby since joining the Premier League champions this summer. The 22-year-old didn't disappoint as he proved his pedigree by scoring thrice to lead Pep Guardiola's men to a vital 6-3 triumph over their local rivals.

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The Norwegian doubled Manchester City's lead in the 34th minute with a beautiful header from a Kevin De Bruyne cross after Phil Foden had put the Cityzens ahead in the eighth minute. He scored again in the 37th minute before completing his hat-trick with a superb strike in the 64th minute.

Reacting to the striker's brilliant display, Liverpool legend Luis Suarez took to social media to hail his impact during the game. The former Liverpool forward wrote in the comments section after Haaland posted a photo of his meditating celebration on Instagram (via talkSPORT):

“Congratulations my friend! Amazing game for you! Best number 9 at the moment."

In addition to scoring three goals, Erling Haaland also recorded two assists in the Manchester derby. He became the first player to record five goal contributions in a single game in the history of the fixture.

Luis Suarez ♥ Erling Haaland

🗣 “He is a great player, he is at a spectacular level.

"He has an admirable physical power. He is one of the best 9s in the world that will mark an era.” [Gerard Romero] https://t.co/sTKBHhYijh

The Norwegian also set the record for taking the fewest number of games to bag three hat-tricks in Premier League history (8). He also scored three goals against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest this season.

Manchester City pulling clear of Liverpool in the title race this season

The Norwegian was simply unstoppable for Manchester City yesterday.

Liverpool were the only team that managed to keep the Cityzens on their toes in the Premier League in each of the last few seasons. This term, however, Jurgen Klopp's men are going through a rough patch and have failed to keep up with Pep Guardiola's side.

The Reds played out a 3-3 draw with Brighton on Saturday (October 1) allowing Manchester City to extend their lead over them by two points.

As things stand, the Cityzens occupy the second position in the league table with 20 points from eight games. That's a whopping 10 points above Liverpool, who are currently ninth in the table with 10 points from seven matches.