Erling Haaland scored an outrageous backheel volley within the Champions League on Wednesday to difficulty a well timed reminder of his personal credentials as a possible Ballon d’Or winner.
A day after Vinicius Junior hit a hat trick for Actual Madrid, Haaland scored an early contender for objective of the season along with his acrobatic effort in Manchester Metropolis’s 5-0 win in opposition to Sparta Prague.
‘He is a freak is not he?” Phil Foden mentioned after the match.
You’ll be able to say that once more.
Haaland’s volley within the 58th minute on the Etihad Stadium was a second of particular person brilliance.
From round six metres and along with his again to objective, the Norway striker leapt within the air and flicked the again of his foot to satisfy Savinho’s cross from the proper.
Connecting powerfully along with his heel, the ball shot down into the turf and bounced excessive into the highest nook past Prague goalkeeper Peter Vindahl.
“I noticed it when the ball got here in. It is unbelievable,” Metropolis coach Pep Guardiola instructed TNT Sports activities.
“He is a statue. So tall and so versatile. I prefer it, he has this sense of humour.
“Similar to the Dortmund one a couple of years in the past. Unbelievable. I do not know which was harder, each very troublesome.
“He had some possibilities nevertheless it’s troublesome. He’s actually on the penalty spot with three defenders and two midfielders — he is at all times surrounded by 5 – 6 gamers. He is so quick too that is possibly why groups defend so deep.”
Haaland scored once more 10 minutes later to take his season’s whole to 13 objectives in 12 video games in all competitions.
His file within the Champions League is now 44 objectives in 42 video games.
Erling Haaland is the toast of Manchester as soon as extra. (Getty Pictures: UEFA/Alex Pantling)
“I would in all probability pull my groin or one thing, attempting that,” Foden added.
“Not many individuals can rating these objectives … he is simply completely different.”
“I’ve praised him earlier than the sport and he is the world class participant and possibly the very best striker on this planet,” mentioned Prague coach Lars Friis.
“He scored unusual objectives, he scored good objectives, he scored with the top, with foot and now this, so [he’s] world class. You simply must say he is troublesome to deal with.”
Foden had put the hosts forward with lower than three minutes gone, earlier than Haaland’s freak effort.
John Stones made it 3-0, Haaland grabbed his second and Matheus Nunes added extra lustre to the emphatic win.
The win sees Metropolis set a brand new Champions League file of 26 video games unbeaten.
They took that file, which stretches again earlier than 1992 into the European Cup period, from their cross-town rivals, Manchester United.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s United group from 2007/09 managed to remain unbeaten for 25 matches.
Nice night time for Premier League golf equipment
Darwin Núñez, left, linked with Mohamed Salah to attain Liverpool’s solely objective of the sport. (AP Photograph: Matthias Schrader)
Elsewhere, Premier League leaders Liverpool moved stage on factors with Aston Villa on the prime of the standings Wednesday by extending its good file to 3 wins.
Liverpool maintained its unbeaten begin by edging Leipzig 1-0 with a first-half objective from Darwin Núñez.
“If we had left this place with a draw, I’d have actually felt we had misplaced one thing,” Liverpool boss Arne Slot instructed TNT Sports activities.
“For the 70 earlier minutes — besides, possibly, for the primary 10 — we dominated.”
Arne Slot has guided Liverpool to first place within the Premier League early in his tenure as Jurgen Klopp’s substitute and now has the group on a most 9 factors within the Champions League.
The newest win in Europe got here at Leipzig, one of many golf equipment that Klopp might be overseeing in his new function as head of worldwide soccer at Pink Bull.
Leipzig is the one group from the massive 5 leagues to lose its three opening matches.
On the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Montjuïc, Raphinha scored a hat trick as Barcelona lastly beat Bayern Munich to finish a collection of six consecutive wins for the German group of their head-to-head conferences that included a humiliating 8-2 loss for Barca within the quarterfinals in 2020.
Raphinha scored a hat-trick as Barcelona broke their hoodoo in opposition to Bayern Munich. (Getty Pictures: Europa Press/Irina R. Hipolito)
This time, Barcelona got here out on prime of an entertaining contest with a 4-1 assertion win.
Brazilian star Raphinha opened the scoring inside a minute, earlier than England’s Harry Kane levelled, taking his private tally on this 12 months’s competitors to 5 objectives in three video games.
However Barcelona responded with one objective from former Bayern nice Robert Lewandowski and two extra from Raphinha, who was later substituted to a standing ovation.
It was Barcelona’s first win over Bayern because the 2015 Champions League semifinals — the Catalan giants got here into the sport with out having scored in its 4 video games in opposition to Bayern since that 8-2 loss.
“It might have been a Champions League closing. Successful like this, in entrance of our followers, is the very best,” Raphinha mentioned. “What we’re doing on the pitch solutions what Barça can do on this Champions League.”
After beating Actual Madrid 1-0 within the earlier spherical, Lille gained 3-1 at Atletico, which was unbeaten in its final 11 house matches within the Champions League.
The French facet had simply three photographs on course, together with a penalty kick.
“We could not have performed an awesome, nice recreation, however we performed the sport we wanted to tonight,” Lille midfielder Benjamin André mentioned.
In the meantime, an outstanding objective from Pierre Lees-Melou helped minnows Brest to a 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen as each groups remained unbeaten.
Elsewhere, Celtic struggled however annoyed Atalanta with a 0-0 draw, with Mario Pašalić hit the woodwork for the Italian group.
On the lookout for a 3rd consecutive win, Benfica misplaced 3-1 to Feyenoord, whereas substitute Marcus Thuram scored in stoppage time to assist Inter Milan scrape a 1-0 win at Younger Boys in Zurich.
After three rounds within the revamped match, Liverpool and Aston Villa have a two-point lead over seven golf equipment together with Man Metropolis and one other Premier League group, Arsenal.
The 4 English groups within the competitors have conceded only one objective mixed thus far.
AP/ABC
