Manchester City’s Erling Haaland scored an early goal to give the champions the interim Premier League lead with a 1-0 win over lowly Southampton at the Etihad on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola’s team have 23 points after nine games, two ahead of Liverpool, who visit Arsenal on Sunday. Southampton are still winless in their first season in the top flight after an away season and sit second-to-last with one point.

While Haaland scored a fine goal in Wednesday’s 5-0 Champions League win over Sparta Prague, he had gone without a goal in three Premier League games, but ended that drought in the fifth minute on Saturday.

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While wrestling with defender Jan Bednarek, the 24-year-old Norwegian international rammed the ball into the roof of the net with one toe and fell on his butt.

Southampton had a great chance to equalize just before half-time, but Cameron Archer smashed his shot onto the crossbar.

Haaland, whose 11 goals lead the league’s scoring charts, had a series of near misses in the second half, including a close-range pass that he pushed narrowly wide before burying his head in his hands in disbelief.