Erling Haaland was the star of the night, scoring a brace, one of which was a wonder goal, as Manchester City steamrolled Sparta Prague 5-0 in their Champions League clash on Wednesday.
The match kicked off with an early strike in the 3rd minute when Phil Foden gave City the lead. Latching onto a pass, Foden struck a perfect shot from the edge of the box into the bottom right corner, leaving Sparta Prague’s goalkeeper Peter Vindahl with no chance.
Haaland came close to scoring his first in the 10th minute, rising to meet a lofted cross with a powerful header, but Vindahl pulled off a brilliant save to keep the score at 1-0.
Sparta Prague’s Veljko Birmancevic threatened in the 26th minute with a promising solo effort, but City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega responded with a sharp save to deny him.
City had a goal disallowed in the 49th minute after a VAR review determined a handball in the build-up. But just a minute later, Nathan Ake pounced on a rebound inside the box and fired home from close range to double City’s lead.
Haaland finally found the back of the net in the 58th minute with a wonderful strike. After a beautiful cross, he met the ball with precision, firing it into the right post to make it 2-0.
John Stones added to the tally with a powerful header in the 64th minute, connecting with a cross and sending the ball into the left post to make it 3-0.
Haaland continued his lethal form with another goal in the 68th minute, controlling a pass on the edge of the box before drilling a shot into the bottom right corner, giving City a commanding 4-0 lead.
The final nail in the coffin came in the 88th minute when Matheus Nunes stepped up to the penalty spot and slotted the ball into the left side of the net, sealing City’s 5-0 demolition of Sparta Prague. Vindahl had no chance with the perfectly placed shot.
