Haaland strike keeps Manchester City on top as surprises spice up the Premier League weekend

One goal from Erling Haaland was enough, again. The Norwegian scored the only goal of the match to give Manchester City a tight 1-0 win over Coventry, a result that keeps Pep Guardiola's side at the top of the Premier League. Nothing flashy about the scoreline, but enough to keep picking up three points at a time.

That's now three goals for Haaland this season, and while the number alone doesn't say much this early in the campaign, it does confirm something we already knew: when City needs a goal to break open a tight match, the striker tends to show up. Coventry put up a fight and defended with discipline, but it wasn't enough to leave with even a point from a ground where few visitors walk away with anything positive.

Surprises and points start to arrive

While City ground out a narrow win, other teams celebrated like it was a cup final. Tottenham finally breathed easier: the club picked up its first point of the season after a 0-0 draw away at Nottingham Forest. No goals were scored, but for a team that had started the weekend without a single point, a road draw feels like a small moral victory.

Something similar is happening at Newcastle, which remains unbeaten since Matthias Jaissle took charge of the club. This time the credit belonged to one man in particular: Jacob Ramsey showed up late to complete a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth, avoiding a defeat that had looked all but certain. Late comebacks like that tend to lift a locker room's spirits, even more so under a new manager still chasing his first loss.

The most eventful match of the weekend was played at Craven Cottage. Crystal Palace had to come from behind twice against Fulham, no easy task on the road, before closing out a 3-2 win that hands the club its first points of the season. Winning that way, grinding it out and rallying twice in the same match, tends to carry more weight for a team's confidence than a comfortable victory would.

The rest of the weekend produced draws that will feel different depending on which side of the result you're on. Brighton tied 1-1 with Leeds, and the match between Brentford and Sunderland also ended in a split of the points, 1-1. Nothing that reshuffles the picture dramatically, but it adds up for both clubs in a season that's still wide open.

With this result, City tightens its grip on first place, though the table keeps shifting week to week. There's still a long way to go in the Premier League, and weekends like this one are a reminder that between comebacks, unexpected draws and late goals, no result can be taken for granted.