LONDON – With Manchester City easing toward another big English Premier League victory, the only question still lingering an hour into the game was whether Erling Haaland would get in on the scoring.
Of course he would.
Recommended Videos
Haaland netted his 15th league goal in the 65th minute to put the finishing touches on a 4-0 win over Southampton on Saturday, taking the Norway striker's remarkable scoring streak to 10 straight games in all competitions.
“Incredible weapon for us, a big threat,” City manager Pep Guardiola said of Haaland.
The win lifted City two points ahead of Arsenal before the Gunners’ game against Liverpool on Sunday. City is the only team still unbeaten after nine rounds.
Haaland has been in such prolific form that going without a goal for more than 60 minutes is enough to raise eyebrows these days. His teammates were happy to fill the void, though, with Jose Cancelo and Phil Foden making it 2-0 by halftime before Riyad Mahrez netted the third in the 49th.
And after Haaland missed a couple of chances he normally puts away, he showed again that he simply cannot be contained. Cancelo pulled the ball back from the left and Haaland sent a first-time strike into the net. He has been held scoreless in just one match all season.
“I am so upset with him," Guardiola joked. “He didn’t score three goals!”
Chelsea kept up its recent momentum under Graham Potter, beating manager-less Wolverhampton 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, while Tottenham ended a difficult week beating Brighton 1-0.
American forward Christian Pulisic made the most of a rare start for Chelsea by making it 2-0 in the 54th minute, after Kai Havertz opened the scoring deep into first-half injury time. Armando Broja added the third.
Former Chelsea striker Diego Costa made his debut for Wolves but had little impact on the game before being taken off after less than an hour — getting a big ovation from the home crowd.
Newcastle climbed up to fifth place with a 5-1 win over Brentford. Newcastle was again without injured record signing Alexander Isak but he was hardly missed as its attack tore Brentford apart at times. Bruno Guimaraes scored twice.
Also, Bournemouth came from behind to beat Leicester 2-1 at home with its prospective new owner watching on. American businessman Bill Foley was in the stands at Vitality Stadium amid reports that he is close to completing a takeover of the club.
Brighton hosted Tottenham in the late game.
GOOD WEEK FOR POTTER
Chelsea seems to be adapting well to Potter's ideas, even though they can change quickly from game to game.
Potter made seven changes from Wednesday’s 3-0 Champions League win over AC Milan and changed his tactical system to boot. Chelsea still looked fluid and overwhelmed Wolves, missing a number of chances before Havertz headed home a cross from Mason Mount just before the break.
Pulisic looked especially resurgent after a difficult start to the season, and forced a stellar save from Jose Sa with a long-range strike towards the top corner after a well-worked team move.
But the American got his goal shortly after the restart with a delicate chip past the goalkeeper from a tight angle.
Potter is unbeaten in four games as Chelsea manager since taking over from the fired Thomas Tuchel. The Blues are on a three-game winning streak in all competitions.
“The week we’ve just had has been fantastic," Potter said. “We’ve made some steps with the group with how we’re acting.”
SPURS WIN FOR VENTRONE
Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris walked over to the away fans after the final whistle in Brighton holding up a team shirt with “Gian Piero” on the back.
This win was for Gian Piero Ventrone, the team's popular fitness coach who died this week at the age of 61.
“It’s been a difficult week to say the least, and it was nice to get the win today,” said striker Harry Kane, who scored the only goal with an instinctive header in the 22nd minute.
Kane reacted quickly to get his head onto a cross from Son Heung-min and steer in his eighth league goal in nine matches. Tottenham bounced back from a loss to Arsenal in the north London derby last weekend and a disappointing 0-0 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League in midweek.
Tottenham is third in the standings, three points behind Man City, with Chelsea another four points behind in fourth having played a game less.
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports