Phil Foden and Pep Guardiola were in awe of Erling Haaland after he scored a draw-dropping volley for Manchester City in the Champions League.
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Article continues below
Article continues below
- Norwegian struck unreal volley against Sparta
- Goal reminiscent of scorpion strike vs Dortmund
- Guardiola explained why he took him off
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WHAT HAPPENED?
The Manchester City striker pulled off an outrageous backheeled-volley during his side's 5-0 rout of Sparta Prague which brought back memories of a goal he scored against Borussia Dortmund two years ago.
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- AFP
WHAT FODEN SAID
Foden told : "I just spoke to him, I said, 'Mate if I tried to do that I'd pull my groin!' I don't know how he does it. It's just how long his legs are. He's a freak! He has this talent that no one else can do."
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Haaland followed up his acrobatic strike by completing a blistering team move to score again. However, Guardiola hauled him off in the 81st minute, meaning he was not on the pitch and unable to complete his hat-trick when City were awarded a late penalty, which Matheus Nunes converted. Haaland looked annoyed at Guardiola for taking him off and denying him his treble but the coach insisted that the striker understood the decision.
"I said to him he has to go the game is over, Erling knew he had to be replaced," Guardiola said. "Look at his smile, he understands the decisions, he's so generous with the team. It's an incredible joy for Manchester City to have this player."
- Getty Images
DID YOU KNOW?
Haaland has now scored 44 times in the Champions League and on Wednesday he moved ahead of Neymar in the competition's all-time scoring charts. He is now level with Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, reaching his tally in just 42 games.
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