Premier League: Erling Haaland strikes again as Man City top table, Chelsea tame Wolves

London: Manchester City swept to the top of the Premier League with a 4-0 rout of Southampton as Erling Haaland extended his incredible scoring run to 10 successive games, while resurgent Chelsea eased to a 3-0 victory against Wolves on Saturday. Joao Cancelo, Phil Foden, and Riyad Mahrez all netted for Pep Guardiola’s side before Haaland added his customary goal to seal yet another one-sided success at the Etihad Stadium.

Haaland has scored an astonishing 20 goals in his first 12 competitive games since his £51 million ($56 million) move from Borussia Dortmund. Fuelled by the Norway striker, City are the first club to score at least three goals in nine consecutive top-flight home matches since Wolves in 1959. The champions are now two points clear of second-placed Arsenal ahead of the north London club’s clash with Liverpool on Sunday. Guardiola’s remarkable team have only lost one of their last 37 league games as they chase a fifth English title in the last six seasons. City have scored 24 goals in their last six games, winning eight of their last nine across all competitions. In stark contrast to City’s blistering form, Southampton’s fifth successive defeat added to the mounting pressure on boss Ralph Hasenhuttl. City opened the scoring in the 20th minute as Joao Cancelo weaved through the Southampton defence, evaded James Ward-Prowse’s challenge, and fired through the legs of keeper Gavin Bazunu. Phil Foden doubled City’s lead as he ran onto Kevin De Bruyne’s pass and clipped a deft lob over Bazunu into the far corner after 32 minutes. Riyad Mahrez put the result beyond doubt in the 49th minute. The Algeria winger met Rodri’s cross with a clinical volley from a tight angle. Inevitably, Haaland wasn’t to be denied and he finished off Cancelo’s pass with a typically ruthless close-range effort in the 65th minute. “I am so upset with him! He didn’t score three goals!” Guardiola joked about Haaland. “Expectations of him are so high that people expect he is going to score three or four goals every game. “But in the end he was there and scored. He has done it and helped us again.” At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea racked up a third win in new boss Graham Potter’s four games since replacing the sacked Thomas Tuchel. Potter made seven changes after the midweek Champions League victory over AC Milan, with Reece James, Raheem Sterling, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang among those rested. Slick Chelsea Showing the depth of their squad, Chelsea took the lead when Kai Havertz netted three minutes into first-half stoppage-time with a looping header from Mason Mount’s pin-point cross. Christian Pulisic put Chelsea in complete control with a cute finish after exchanging passes with Mount in the 54th minute.

Armando Broja grabbed his first goal for Chelsea with a 20-yard drive in the 90th minute. After their spluttering form at the end of Tuchel’s reign, Chelsea are up to fourth place. “I don’t think we can succeed with just 11 players. It’s not right just to play 11 until they fall down and get injured,” Potter said. “When you’re playing three games a week, you’ve got to make decisions around fresh players, when players are determined and desperate to play.” Tottenham are three points behind Manchester City after Harry Kane secured a 1-0 win at Brighton. Antonio Conte’s third-placed team won for the first time in three games after losing at Arsenal and drawing away to Eintracht Frankfurt. Kane struck his eighth goal of the season in the 22nd minute, the England captain converting Son Heung-min’s cross with a glancing header. It was the first defeat for Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi after an impressive 3-3 draw at Liverpool in his first match.

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