Manchester City continue to press on relentlessly, telling Liverpool and Arsenal that they must do the same. Pep Guardiola's champions secured top spot with this narrow victory and if either Arsenal or Arne Slot's side can win Sunday's late kick-off they will deal a huge blow to the other side.

City are on 23 points, ahead of Liverpool on two and Arsenal on a yawning six points, so Mikel Arteta's team can't afford to lose. Guardiola's protégés were a bit overwhelmed here. He recently preached the need to be patient and although Erling Haaland could have scored a hat-trick instead of his only winner, injuries meant the coach had little resources on the bench to make changes to his team and only Ilkay Gündogan was an attacking player. open-minded senior option.

On Wednesday, Haaland managed to score against Sparta Prague with a stunning inverted heel volley. Five minutes into the game he went down, was dragged there by Jan Bednarek and still scored, to his delight and that of the fans.

The cross was overcome by the clever Matheus Nunes, who played on the left in the first division this season. Soon the silky-smooth Portuguese floated into the area and let go. Aaron Ramsdale made the save, but Nunes remained unchallenged.

Haaland's goal was his first in the competition in October: a curious statistic for a number 9 with his numbers. It ended a three-game losing streak in the league and already put the visitors behind the eight-ball mark. They had to take advantage of every opportunity that came their way, like when Mateus Fernandes passed the ball forward from the inside left zone to Cameron Archer: he had a half-step to Rúben Dias in City's half, but the striker missed control and the defender cleared up .

Saints are pretty but ineffective. Adam Lallana, for example, pressed by Mateo Kovacic near his penalty area, turned and glided past the champions' keeper, earning applause from Russell Martin, but the move failed and City regained control.

Guardiola can be the strictest of disciplinarians, and so anger overcame him when Savinho latched on to a loose Saints pass, lowered his shoulder, padded into the penalty area and, while Haaland begged to be found, dawdled to allow the threat has been eliminated.

During the week, Martin noticed that Sky Sports had touted his job security as “breaking news”. If this suggests the need to thicken the skin, Ramsdale showed why the manager is under scrutiny by recently highlighting Martin's insistence that his men must play from the goalkeeper.

A beleaguered Ramsdale panicked and spooned the ball to the lurking Bernardo Silva in the six-yard box. Without Taylor Harwood-Bellis' sprawling block, he would have found Haaland. An escape, then, and how Flynn Downes also deserved to avoid the yellow card that Tony Harrington received for a legitimate foul on Silva. Martin then warned the referee and he was also warned.

The first half ended with Archer running down the left and hitting Ederson's crossbar, but he was offside. The second began with a Savinho shot that punched holes in the Saints rearguard: he tapped left to Phil Foden, who saw his effort go wide to Ramsdale's left.

City's next goal appeared to hit the post but never materialized. Foden sent a corner over the goal, Haaland rose to head and Harwood-Bellis cleared off the line. The ball came back and Haaland headed again, but Ramsdale saved. Savinho crossed from the right to the far post and Haaland – to his despair – somehow missed from close range.

In between, Adam Armstrong, who came on for Tyler Dibling after the break, aimed straight at Ederson on a counterattack down City's left side. Then Fernandes almost came to disaster. Once again the hosts pushed the Saints into a corner, so the solution for the No. 18 was a wild pass from the left touchline straight to Nunes, which he was unable to complete.

A subplot dealt with Haaland's missed headers. The next followed a Savinho drive, which he directed over the goal rather than into the goal. It was Gündogan's turn at the end, but this was a rare subdued performance from City that almost led to a draw, but substitute Joe Aribo's poor effort in the closing stages saved the home side.