EPL PIX: Haaland strikes again! City top the table

Man City move top as early Haaland strike secures win over Southampton

Manchester City's Erling Haaland scored an early goal to take the champions provisionally top of the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over Southampton on Saturday at Etihad Stadium that had boss Pep Guardiola praising their last-placed opponents.

City are two points ahead of Liverpool, who are second and visit fourth-placed Arsenal on Sunday. Southampton are still without a win in their first campaign back in the top flight after a season away and sit bottom on one point.

"Important thing is being there," Guardiola said. "We created chances. As always Erling had two or three clear ones. But I'm not concerned, it's important to have 23 points now."

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

Wrestling with defender Jan Bednarek, the 24-year-old Norwegian, a master of scoring from difficult angles, stabbed the ball into the roof of the net with a toe while falling onto his backside.

Southampton had a terrific chance to level right before the break when Cameron Archer was one-on-one with keeper Ederson -- and on the sidelines Martin already had his hands raised in celebration -- but the forward smashed his shot against the bar.

Haaland, whose 11 goals top the league scoring chart, had a flurry of near-misses in the second half, including a sitter from close range that he poked just wide and then buried his head in his hands in disbelief.

Wasteful Villa held by Bournemouth after late Evanilson goal

High-flying Aston Villa had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth after a last-gasp Evanilson header cancelled out Ross Barkley's opener for the dominant hosts in the Premier League on Saturday.

Though devastated to concede at the death, Unai Emery's team nevertheless moved up to third in the table with 18 points and extended their unbeaten run to 11 games in all competitions.

Buoyed by another Champions League win in midweek, Villa peppered Bournemouth's goal from the off, squandering a host of chances before second-half substitute Barkley hooked in from close range in the 76th minute from a Leon Bailey knock-down.

Bournemouth had defended stoutly throughout but went looking for an equaliser in added time and got it when Brazilian forward Evanilson lost his marker and glanced Marcus Tavernier's superb free-kick past Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez.

The 96th minute goal, with the final touch of the match, sent the away fans into delirium and gave Bournemouth a barely-deserved share of the spoils that put them 10th on 12 points.

Cunha strikes late as Wolves recover to draw 2-2 at Brighton

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matheus Cunha struck a superb stoppage-time equaliser to snatch a 2-2 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday as they came back from two goals down to grab a point that lifts them off the bottom of the Premier League table.

Though the late recovery from Wolves was brilliant, Brighton only had themselves to blame for not putting their chances away and allowing the visitors to get back into the game, especially after they went two goals in front late on.

The Seagulls dominated the first half, but it took until the 45th minute for them to break the deadlock with a slick finish from Danny Welbeck after visiting keeper Jose Sa gave the ball away cheaply, allowing Brighton to counter.

Until that point, the home side had struggled to get shots on target and it was to come back to haunt them as Wolves gradually upped the tempo in the second half.

Norwegian striker Joergen Strand Larsen wasted a few decent chances for Wolves, and the game looked over for the visitors when Brighton substitute Ferguson turned and shot into the bottom-left corner in the 86th minute.

Instead, Wolves were thrown a lifeline when Rayan Ait-Nouri lashed home a loose ball after a corner two minutes later to set up a grandstand finish.

Searching for a third goal, Brighton somehow butchered a four-on-one situation and allowed Wolves to break up the other end where Cunha advanced and rattled the ball into the net in the third minute of stoppage time for a most unlikely draw.

The point - only the second of the season for Wolves - lifts them to 19th spot on two points, one ahead of Southampton and one behind Crystal Palace, while Brighton are fifth on 16.

Brentford fight back from two goals down to beat Ipswich

Two goals from Bryan Mbeumo saw Brentford fight back from a two-goal deficit to edge 10-man Ipswich Town 4-3 in an action-packed Premier League contest on Saturday that kept up the hosts’ red-hot home form.

Newly promoted Ipswich would have been confident of their first victory of the league season after going 2-0 up in the first 31 minutes through Sam Szmodics and George Hirst.

But Brentford had other ideas as they struck back through Yoane Wissa and an own goal to level matters at halftime and then led though Mbeumo’s second half penalty.

Ipswich were then reduced to 10 men with the sending off of defender Harry Clarke, who had earlier scored the own goal and given away a penalty, but defied the odds to level through substitute Liam Delap's 86th minute goal, only for Mbeumo to win the game in time added on with a long range effort.