Five-star Man City run riot as Erling Haaland hits double in Sparta Prague drubbing

For a moment, forget the second half romp that featured Erling Haaland enjoying himself immensely.

For a moment, forget the insatiable Norwegian giving everyone a timely reminder of his remarkable array of finishing skills. For a moment, forget Manchester City posting another example of their attacking power.

Because perhaps the most significant act of this fairly effortless destruction of average European opposition came inside three minutes. There has been talk of Phil Foden not being worth his place in the England team and Pep Guardiola has only started him once in the Premier League this season.

From Footballer of the Year to a frustrating European Championship to a distinctly indifferent start to the 2024/25 club campaign, Foden appeared to be suffering a rare dip in form. But form is temporary and class is … well, you know the rest.

And few have the sort of class that Foden possesses, class that signalled the direction of travel in this contest not long after kick-off. The body shape was perfect in receiving the Manuel Akanji pass, the feet were familiarly quick in getting into the penalty area and the left-foot finish was a definition of powerful precision.

It was an instance of early class in a one-sided affair that was yet another reminder of why the Champions League seldom prompts huge interest ahead of the knockout stages. Ludicrous as it sounds, perhaps Guardiola was making a point by ‘only’ having seven players on the bench (Sparta had a full complement of 12), two of whom were goalkeepers.

Poor Pep. Whether not all of the absentees were physically incapacitated is open to debate but there is no doubt this Champions League format has given some managers a licence to rotate even in these early stages.

There was no rest, though, for Haaland, who went into the game having not scored for a couple of matches, which equates to a drought in his world. Guardiola clearly believes regular activity is the best way to keep Haaland in top shape.

Regular goalscoring normally accompanies regular activity but the Norwegian actually had a fairly frustrating first half, bringing a save of Gordon Banks-lite proportions fro Peter Vandal with one header but otherwise proving relatively unthreatening. As good as he is, it is not easy for Haaland to be effective against the defensive system that now appears to be the go-to tactic against City - the exaggerated low block.

But Haaland remains a footballer who normally finds a way and he did exactly that shortly before the hour mark to put proceedings beyond doubt. The nice assist was from Savinho but even he could not have expected Haaland to convert with a martial arts-style leap and no-look, outside-of-the-boot finish.

And after John Stones had popped in a second headed goal in four days, Haaland firmly clipped in his 13th City goal of the season with a far more conventional piece of work. He clearly fancied another hat-trick but his manager decided to give him a breather and it was left to Matheus Nunes to convert the spot-kick that made it five.

By then, everyone was having a breather, Pep had sent on all five outfield substitutes, and Haaland was all smiles in his padded coat. But perhaps the biggest smile belonged to Foden.

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