Published by Osasere Edomwonyi Ikpoba
Erling Haaland's first-half header secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory for Manchester City over newly-promoted Coventry City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, keeping Enzo Maresca's side perfect with three wins from three Premier League matches, while Tottenham Hotspur's struggles in front of goal continued with a goalless draw at Nottingham Forest.
The Maresca era at Manchester City has begun with a flawless record, but this was far from a vintage performance from the reshaped champions. City, who are hungry to reclaim the Premier League crown after missing out in the past two seasons, first to Liverpool then to Arsenal, took the lead in the 26th minute but failed to add to their tally and were left clinging on for the three points. Haaland's goal, his third of the season, was set up by new signing Enzo Fernandez, who arrived on transfer deadline day in a £125 million deal from Chelsea that equalled the British record. Fernandez, who was thrust into the starting line-up after Nico O'Reilly sustained an injury in the warm-up, fed Antoine Semenyo sprinting down the right, and his cross was hung up perfectly for Haaland to head home at the back post.
Fellow new signing Iliman Ndiaye also made his debut for the club alongside Haaland, Semenyo, and Rayan Cherki in a fearsome front four. However, Maresca, who took over after the emotional departure of long-serving Pep Guardiola, is working with a significantly reshaped squad following several high-profile departures, including those of former Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, Bernardo Silva, and John Stones. As well as Fernandez and Ndiaye, big-money arrivals include England midfielder Elliot Anderson and Moroccan teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi, who both featured on Saturday. Coventry, under the management of Frank Lampard, had failed to even score in three consecutive defeats to mark their return to the top flight after over two decades away, yet they could not have come closer to breaking their duck early on thanks to a gift from City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The giant Italian miscontrolled a backpass and recovered to clear off his own line with inches to spare, while Taiwo Awoniyi and Jack Rudoni also missed big chances to give the visitors the lead before City began to find their stride. Cherki smashed off the post before Haaland's decisive intervention. The Norwegian was denied a second by Carl Rushworth before half-time, but City failed to build on their advantage and were left hanging on. Donnarumma was needed to produce two huge saves to deny Loum Tchaouna and Ellis Simms an equaliser and a historic moment for Coventry.
Table-topping City have now won all three of their Premier League matches this season ahead of next week's Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
At the City Ground, Tottenham finally got off the mark with a point but their frustrations in front of goal continued in a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest. For the third successive league match, Tottenham failed to score, and this time they did not even muster a shot on target. Roberto De Zerbi's side are still waiting for their first Premier League goal of the new campaign after defeats to Brentford and Newcastle. Forest had the ball in the net midway through the second half after calamitous defending, but Neco Williams's strike was ruled out following a VAR check for handball. Williams stooped to head in on the goalline as Sandro Tonali and Jan Paul van Hecke attempted to prevent Morgan Gibbs-White's deflected effort from bobbling into the net, but the video assistant referee determined the ball had touched the Forest defender's hand before crossing the line. Omar Marmoush had Spurs' best opportunities, finding an opening in either half, but the Italian's side are still waiting for their first league goal of 2026-27. Ukrainian forward Mykhailo Mudryk, who joined Tottenham on loan this week, was introduced as a substitute in the 74th minute for his first competitive action since November 2024 following a doping ban.
The result means that Forest, who like Spurs flirted with relegation last season, are also still searching for their first win. Tottenham also spent heavily in the summer transfer window in a desperate effort to avoid the embarrassment of the past two seasons, in which they have finished 17th both times, but they have now failed to score in their opening three matches of a league season for only the second time in their history, after 1974-75.
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