'The way they pull him!' - Erling Haaland should get a penalty at 'every cross' as Pep Guardiola defends star striker for wasted chances in narrow win against Southampton

The talismanic striker took just five minutes to break his three-match Premier League goal drought to score his 11th of the campaign. Haaland tussled with Jan Bednarek and the physically imposing striker won the duel as he poked home from close range - which eventually proved to be the difference-maker between the two sides.

City could have finished the match with a wider margin, but for Haaland's profligacy. The Norwegian got a couple of more gilt-edged opportunities to add to his ever-increasing goal tally but quite uncharacteristically fluffed his lines. The most glaring miss came in the 52nd minute when he almost had the entire goal at his mercy and yet tapped the ball wide, much to his disbelief.

Nonetheless, Guardiola remained unfazed by Haaland's form and instead argued to Match of the Day: "It is not easy for him because every cross is a penalty for Erling - the way they pull him. We create more but we could not score the second, but Erling is a guarantee for us."

After scoring against Southampton, Haaland matched Sergio Aguero's 2017 record of scoring in seven successive starts against newly promoted teams. Moreover, his Premier League goal tally now reads 74, which is one more than Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus, despite playing in 143 fewer games.

Haaland will be back in action on Wednesday evening against Tottenham in an Carabao Cup round of 16 clash before travelling to Bournemouth next Saturday for the next Premier League fixture.