'He's a freak!' - Phil Foden raves about Erling Haaland's obscene goal as Pep Guardiola pays tribute to 'unbelievable' Man City hitman & explains why he had to deny him Champions League hat-trick

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.

Foden told TNT Sports: "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."

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."

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.

Haaland has failed to score in his last three Premier League games but should be confident about breaking his drought on Saturday when City take on Southampton, who are second bottom of the table and have just one point from their eight games.