Haaland scores again as Man City stay perfect

MANCHESTER, England (AP):

A new-look Manchester City. The same old Erling Haaland.

The Norway striker scored his third goal of the season as City maintained their perfect start by beating Coventry 1-0 yesterday to stay atop the Premier League standings.

City have spent more than US$600 million revamping their squad under new manager Enzo Maresca, but Haaland remains their standout asset.

His 26th-minute header at the Etihad Stadium proved decisive against newly promoted Coventry and preserved Maresca’s flawless start since taking on the daunting task of succeeding Pep Guardiola.

Maresca’s job will be considerably easier if Haaland maintains his scoring touch, with the forward finding the net for the third time in two games.

“It’s an important win, different from the first two. They have all been different,” Maresca said.

“I’m very happy. I know the players day by day, we know each other. It means we will get better and better.”

City’s heavy investment in the post-Guardiola era continued right up to deadline day with the signings of Enzo Fernandez and Iliman Ndiaye, both of whom started against Coventry.

“(We) started with a win, so it couldn’t get any better,” Ndiaye said.

City are three points clear of defending champions Arsenal, who play Chelsea today.

Promoted Hull are second and unbeaten on seven points after a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa.

Tottenham collected their first point of the season with a 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest, while Newcastle remained unbeaten under new coach Matthias Jaissle, thanks to Jacob Ramsey’s late equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.

Crystal Palace twice fought back before securing a 3-2 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage for their first points of the campaign, while Brighton drew 1-1 with Leeds.

Brentford and Sunderland also shared the points in a 1-1 draw.

Hull flying high

Hull’s unlikely strong start continued with a point against Aston Villa that came close to becoming a third straight victory.

After securing promotion to the top flight through the playoffs, Hull have emerged as the surprise package of the season, having stunned Manchester United in their opening match before beating Coventry.

Mohamed Belloumi came within inches of scoring the winner against Villa but saw his second-half curling effort rebound off the crossbar.

Villa’s struggles continued following a summer of significant change and the departures of key players such as Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez.

Unai Emery’s team is yet to score this season but at least earned its first point after successive defeats.

Late drama

Newcastle rallied from 2-0 down to rescue a point at St James’ Park after Ramsey came off the bench to strike late and salvage a draw against Bournemouth.

Ramsey fired home from inside the area in the 88th minute to spark wild celebrations among the home supporters.

Bournemouth took the lead through Marcus Tavernier in the ninth minute and doubled their advantage when Malick Thiaw diverted the ball into his own net in the 35th.

Harvey Barnes responded two minutes later with a brilliant solo effort, cutting in from the left before curling the ball into the top corner.

Newcastle appeared to be heading for their first defeat of the season until Ramsey drove a low shot past Bournemouth goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.

It was the third time this season Bournemouth surrendered a late lead. The Cherries conceded in stoppage time against both Manchester City and Everton after giving up late equalisers in their opening two matches of the campaign.

Spurs get off the mark

Big-spending Tottenham earned their first point of the season but are still without a league goal despite overhauling their attack during the transfer window.

Summer signings Omar Marmoush and Savio were both kept quiet at the City Ground, while on-loan Mykhailo Mudryk was also unable to make a breakthrough after coming on for his debut.

“The problem is the last third, not because we have not the quality. We have great players,” said Spurs coach Roberto De Zerbi.

“We have to be better in the last decision, to keep calm when we are in the last third and take the best decision.”

Forest thought they had found the winner through Neco Williams, but the goal was ruled out by VAR for handball.

Fulham’s struggles continue

It has been a difficult start for new Fulham coach Alvaro Arbeloa, whose team has now lost three straight league matches.

The former Real Madrid coach might have thought his side was heading for a first win after Fulham led 1-0 through Josh King and then regained the advantage at 2-1 through Cesar Palacios.

However, Palace responded through Tyrick Mitchell’s two equalisers before Ben Chilwell struck the winner in the 77th minute.

Sunderland secured a late draw at Brentford through Enzo Le Fee’s penalty in the 82nd minute.

Leeds were chasing a third straight win and led Brighton 1-0 through Jayden Bogle until Luka Vuskovic equalised in the 71st minute.