Erling Haaland’s Acrobatics Shine in Manchester City’s 5-0 Triumph Over Sparta Prague
Thanks to Erling Haaland’s spectacular acrobatics, Manchester City defeated Sparta Prague 5-0 which helped Pep Guardiola’s team move up to third place in their Champions League group.
As City thrashed the Czech champs, the Norwegian striker scored twice, including a stunning backheel at shoulder height. Phil Foden, John Stones, and Matheus Nunes all contributed goals to City’s continued unbeaten run in all competitions this year.
“He’s a freak isn’t he,” Foden remarked in reference to Haaland’s physique.
“I would pull my groin if I attempted to do it. I believe it’s just his long legs, but I’m not sure how he achieved it.
Despite taking four points from their first two Champions League matches against Stuttgart and Salzburg, Sparta found that City was too much of a step up in class.
“After it reached 2-0, the second half got excruciating. We struggled to handle that, and it got really tough,” Sparta coach Lars Friis said.
With Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne out, City’s injury issues have been made worse by Foden’s lack of form and fitness.
However, there were positive signals for Guardiola as the England international scored the first goal after just three minutes after being added back to the starting lineup. Despite having nine attempts on goal overall, Haaland was unhappy in the first half because Sparta prevented the floodgates from opening before halftime.
On the tenth minute, Peter Vindahl parried a strong downward header from Haaland with a spectacular save low to his right. Haaland had another powerful header cut off the line, while Vindahl also denied Foden.
Finally, Haaland scored City’s second goal with a move evoking his Champions League goal of the season goal against former team Borussia Dortmund two years prior.
“It was an incredible objective. “After he shot, I couldn’t speak,” Nunes claimed.
“When he scored against Dortmund I was watching on TV and to see this live was amazing.”
The 24-year-old twisted his body to hit the ball martial arts-style and send it beyond Vindahl after Savinho’s chipped cross was just behind him. Stones extended his recent run of goals with a looping header from Nunes’ cross and nodded in a crucial stoppage time victory against Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday.
Guardiola quipped, “John can play as a striker when Erling is not available.”
After a thrilling City counterattack, Haaland finished with a three-goal blitz in ten minutes.
Rico’s deft passes Haaland scored his 44th Champions League goal in just 42 games after being set up by Lewis, Foden, and Nunes.
With City playing seven games in 21 days, Guardiola could afford to replace his star number nine in the closing stages, along with Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan.
But when Nunes was taken down inside the box, Haaland was denied the opportunity to clinch his third hat-trick of the season.
The Portugal international took the initiative to score his second goal for City and complete the scoring.
City now holds the longest unbeaten streak of any club with 26 Champions League games played without a loss.
With the win, Guardiola’s team now has seven points from their first three Champions League games, only surpassed by Premier League rivals Aston Villa and Liverpool.
