Phil Foden branded Erling Haaland “a freak” for the extraordinary volley he scored against Sparta Prague – and joked he would get injured if he tried to do something similar. Haaland struck twice in a 5-0 win over Sparta Prague with his first goal a backheeled volley in mid-air that left Foden, who had opened the scoring, marvelling at it.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is clearly a confident man, but even he looked surprised by the moment of magic he produced as his team thrashed Sparta Praha in the Champions League Wednesday.