'He's a freak': Man City laud Erling Haaland after spectacular goal in win over Sparta

Erling Haaland left some of his Manchester City teammates speechless while his manager Pep Guardiola lauded his "fantastic" backheel volley in a thumping win over Sparta Prague. Haaland put City 2-0 up just before the hour mark at the Etihad Stadium with the spectacular acrobatic effort, the first of a brace that took the 24-year-old Norwegian to 13 goals this season and a career tally of 44 in 42 Uefa Champions League outings. Even by Haaland's standards the goal was special, getting across his defender to launch himself in the air to connect with Savinho's cross to guide the ball past Sparta keeper Peter Vindahl Jensen. The striker had cut a forlorn figure up till then, but Guardiola said he told Haaland to be patient and that chances would come against their Czech opponents. “I know it’s not easy for him because they defend in the box, no space, three central defenders with him, two holding midfielders close to him, even the wingers close to the holding midfielders," Guardiola said. “Literally there is not space. Every cross they are hugging him and pushing him. So it is not easy. “But I spoke many times with him ‘be patient, be positive, because the ball is coming, the ball arrives’. “Today he scored two goals, [also] had two headers, really good, to score two more. Always Erling has this incredible capacity. He can touch 15 balls, 20 balls but have seven, eight chances. “It is unbelievable this talent this guy has, and of course, he made a fantastic goal. [It was] quite similar to [against] Dortmund years ago with an incredible pass from Joao Cancelo. I don’t know which one is more difficult – for me, both.” "It was an amazing goal. I was speechless after he shot," said City midfielder Matheus Nunes, who was also on the scoresheet. "When he scored against Dortmund I was watching on TV and to see this live was amazing." Phil Foden opened the scoring for City after just three minutes and lauded the 1.94 metre (6ft 4in) striker's flexibility. "If I tried to do that I'd pull my groin," said Foden. "I don't know how he did it, I just think it's just his long legs. "He's a freak isn't he. I've seen him score one similar against Borussia Dortmund." The result put City on seven points after three matches in the league phase. It was a first defeat of the competition for Sparta, who have four points, and the Czech outfit’s coach Lars Friis said: “Up until 2-0 I think it was decent, after that there was just a massive difference more or less in every aspect. “I can’t blame my boys, tonight we played against the best team in the world, the best players in the world.” On Haaland, he added: “I think up until that we got actually good hands on him, I think the boys coped with him very well, and then – what to say? “He is a world-class player, maybe the best striker in the world, and he scores strange goals, good goals, with his head, with his foot, and now also this. World class. He just showed what we all knew.” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said it was too early to say his team were contenders to win the Champions League even after they hammered six-time winners Bayern Munich 4-1 on Wednesday. The Catalans last won the trophy in 2015 and had lost their prior six matches against Bayern but they crushed last season's semi-finalists at the Olympic stadium, with Raphinha scoring a hat-trick. "It's too soon, we just started the season, we're on a long road in La Liga and the Champions League," Flick told reporters. "We're aiming to go game by game and we're preparing ourselves like that." La Liga leaders Barcelona face Spanish and European champions Real Madrid on Saturday in La Liga in a mouthwatering Clasico battle, which will be another key test for Flick's side. "We're obviously very proud of the result tonight but on Saturday it continues, another hard game against a team with a name that everybody knows," he said. "We want to put on another great performance ... with a result like this, the team deserved it and also their celebration after the game." Raphinha opened the scoring inside the first minute and after Harry Kane equalised, Robert Lewandowski put Barca back ahead. Two more strikes by former Leeds United winger Raphinha, on his 100th appearance for the club, sealed Barcelona's emphatic victory. "Raphinha is for me a very good example of how the team works, Raphinha is someone who always gives everything in training and in games too, he plays with a lot of intensity," said Flick. "He's very important for us, he presses, and today we saw too he scores goals ... he's got a good dynamic with the ball and today had an excellent game. "He's a player who is both defensive and attacking, with intensity, dynamism and technique." Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas said last season's heartbreak was driving the Reds' excellent start this campaign, after Wednesday's 1-0 Champions League win at RB Leipzig. Last year, Liverpool won the League Cup and were were top of the Premier League table in Jurgen Klopp's swansong and on track for four trophies, when a run of poor form saw them crash out of contention. This year, Liverpool have won 11 of 12 in all competitions under new manager Arne Slot – the best start ever for a Reds manager. Named man of the match in Wednesday's win, Tsimikas admitted the late failings of last season are driving the side this time around. "I think the last season, at the end, we destroyed everything," he said. "After one bad result, I think, against Man United, I think the team in the next fixtures were not the team we were before." Liverpool are top of the Premier League table and are one of only two teams, alongside Aston Villa, to have claimed three wins from three in the Champions League this season. They travel to fellow title rivals Arsenal on Sunday and could go seven points clear of the Gunners with a win. Tsimikas said it was "too early" to talk about trophies, but added "we set our goals at the start of the season and we want to go for everything." "I think we will go to Arsenal to play our football, to win the game, that's our target. We just watch every game, game by game we have to win, to take the three points and to play good football." Darwin Nunez scored the only goal in the game, his first in the competition since February, and manager Arne Slot said he "asked for goals – maybe more than one – but he gave us one today". "It was a team goal. It's pleasing to see that Darwin did a very good job today."

'He's a freak': Man City laud Erling Haaland after spectacular goal in win over Sparta

Norwegian adds to his goals highlight reel with backheel volley in 5-0 Uefa Champions League win