Erling Haaland’s domestic goal drought is over, but while he made the difference in Manchester City’s unexpectedly narrow 1-0 win over Southampton, it was not a performance that could dispel recent doubts. If anything, his raw performance reinforced the notion that the Norwegian is an enigma, capable of ridiculous athleticism one game and woeful misses the next.

Haaland scored for the first time in four Premier League games, giving City an ideal start to what many expected to be a bloodbath against the division’s second-to-last team. In the fifth minute he shot a cross from Matheus Nunes into the goal. But he was unable to build on his fast start despite eight shots on goal.

The Norwegian missed an almost open goal in the second half and then managed to head the ball backwards after a dream cross with a gaping net. Haaland wasn’t the only one to have a bad day at the office, as City were faced with the unusual situation of having less possession of the ball than their opponents.

Apart from attempts from Cameron Archer, who hit the crossbar, and Adam Armstrong at the end of each half, Southampton made very little use of possession. But they used holding on to the ball as a defense mechanism and City didn’t know what to do. Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola’s team celebrated their seventh win of the season and extended their unbeaten home streak to an almost incredible two years.

GOAL rates City’s players from the Etihad Stadium…