Manchester City went back to the top of the Premier League as Erling Haaland’s early effort proved enough to beat struggling Southampton.
When Haaland shrugged off Jan Bednarek to turn Matheus Nunes’ fifth-minute cross beyond Saints keeper Aaron Ramsdale for his 11th league goal of the season, the visitors seemed set for a heavy defeat.
But a combination of their own dogged defending and some poor finishing from City, with Haaland the chief culprit, ensured a few home nerves before the final whistle.
The result extended City’s unbeaten Premier League record to 32 games. They are now only six weeks away from going a full 12 months since their last defeat, by Aston Villa on 6 December.
Although they deserve credit for the way they battled, the result did nothing to help Southampton’s problems towards the foot of the table.
Russell Martin’s men still only have a single point to their name almost a quarter of the way through the campaign.
They can take solace from the knowledge that the only previous time they failed to win any of their first nine games, in 1998-99, they stayed up, but Martin needs to hope Southampton’s owners show him some patience as he looks to change the club’s fortunes following their return to the top flight.