Haaland puts on a show as Manchester City beat Sparta Prague | Champions League

In Erling Haaland's goalscoring career, the reverse strike in the air that he used to beat Peter Vindahl while turning away from the Sparta Prague goalkeeper is certainly a standout highlight. It was Manchester City's second goal in the 58th minute and Haaland's easygoing grin showed how impressed he was with his own work.

Asked if the 24-year-old's blow was normal, Pep Guardiola said: “For a human being I would say no.” It's unbelievable. He scored an incredible goal, similar to (against Borussia) Dortmund a few years ago. I don’t know which is more difficult, but I would say both are the same.”

City now have seven points and – as Opta's 'supercomputer' calculates – nine should secure their place in the playoff round and 15 into the round of 16 – Guardiola's relentless team are in control.

On Tuesday, Guardiola said that Phil Foden “will be back soon” – meaning he will do his best – and he started here by sliding past three Sparta players and firing the opener into the left corner, his wand with Vindahl hit with his left foot from about 18 meters. John Stones and Manuel Akanji controlled the midfielder's shot. They were forced to pull back soon after when Sparta broke through on the right where Veljko Birmancevic had a shot saved. Lars Friis' men hoped to be successful in the breakaway, but had to be ruthless to do so.

Haaland is the master of ruthlessness and when he jumped from a cross from the left and went to Vindahl's right, he thought he had doubled the score. The attempt drew a gasp, which was followed by a louder admonition as the goalkeeper, similar to Gordon Banks, dived to his right to put the ball under the crossbar.

Sparta's packed away team faltered despite City trying to destroy their team with 81% possession, and the band of traveling faithful almost got going when Victor Olatunji stormed into enemy territory. The striker sent a chip over Stefan Ortega, but it was too high.

Guardiola, resplendent in a smart wool turtleneck, was in his usual technical spot. He wanted more goals – as always – and a second header from Haaland in the crowded Sparta area went just wide. The ball was deflected and after a cursory pinball around the six-yard box, City were on the verge of suffering a direct hit when Birmancevic again ran towards goal from his half. With Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis behind him, he aimed at Ortega from the right, but the goalkeeper tipped over.

The highlights of the remainder of the first half were a Foden attempt saved by Vindahl and a Savinho goal. When the break came, the Czech champions of the last two seasons had reduced the deficit to one.

Like Wolves on Sunday, Sparta was a low-block team. City had to find a way past again to make themselves comfortable. The order was to be more direct: Foden took a corner from the right, Olatunji accidentally shot further, Haaland deflected the ball back from the far post and Nathan Aké converted. However, he was guilty of a handball and the result was canceled. It seemed harsh – his hand had nowhere to go – and Guardiola's whistles into the ear of Andrea Colombo, the fourth official, underlined that point.

Guardiola is quick to point out when teams defend in tight spaces and is quick to add that they shouldn't be judged. A second Foden corner – from the same right quadrant – caused confusion again and, knowing how clever the 53-year-old is, it appeared to be a ploy to attack the wings in the hope of clearing the opposition defense to break through.

Savinho skipped down the right side, shot the ball up, and Haaland jumped up to see Vindahl make another save. Not so, the next act of the Norwegian phenomenon. Once again Savinho jogged down his corridor, turned and let the ball slide over the goal. What followed was great: Haaland, back to goal, released the flying heel that hit the turf and bounced over Vindahl.

Stones was the match winner for Wolves, hoping to meet a clever dink from Nunes and head in City's third half. Guardiola's charges earned a fourth goal when Haaland burst in, met Nunes' shot and delivered an emphatic – and rare – right-footed finish. The fifth point was added by Nunes' late penalty. Even before the clocks are turned back, City are in confident form. As Guardiola said: “I’m really enjoying the way we’ve been playing lately.”