By Lori Ewing
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Manchester City’s Erling Haaland scored an early goal to take the champions provisionally top of the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over lowly Southampton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s team have 23 points after nine games, two ahead of Liverpool, who visit Arsenal on Sunday. Southampton are still without a win in their first season back in the top flight after a season away and sit second-bottom on one point.
While Haaland scored a stunner in Wednesday’s 5-0 Champions League thrashing of Sparta Prague, he had gone three Premier League games without a goal but ended that drought in the fifth minute on Saturday.
Wrestling with defender Jan Bednarek, the 24-year-old Norwegian stabbed the ball into the roof of the net with a toe while falling onto his backside.
Southampton had a terrific chance to level right before the break but Cameron Archer smashed his shot against the bar.
Haaland, whose 11 goals top the league scoring chart, had a flurry of near-misses in the second half, including a sitter from close range that he poked just wide and then buried his head in his hands in disbelief.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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