Phil Foden has called Erling Haaland a “freak” after scoring an incredible backheel goal in Manchester City's 5-0 UEFA Champions League win at the Etihad on Wednesday.

Haaland scored twice and was looking for another hat-trick before being substituted in the 81st minute.

A Haaland in the air met Savinho's cross with his back to goal and acrobatically hit the ball past Sparta goalkeeper Peter Vindahl for City's second goal.

It began a 10-minute flurry of goals for Pep Guardiola's side, with John Stones adding a header and Haaland scoring his second soon after.

Foden had opened the scoring in the second minute, but it was only through Haaland's athleticism in the second half that City managed to score again.

“I just talked to him and said, 'If I tried that, I'd pull my groin.' I don’t know how he does it,” Foden said after the game.

“I think it’s just the length of his legs. He's a freak. I saw him score a similar goal against Borussia Dortmund, which shows he has this talent that no one else can have.”

Foden has started just three games for City this season and was named the 2023/24 Premier League Player of the Season.

The midfielder picked up the Player of the Match award on Wednesday and was at his brilliant best.

“The goal is just to try and achieve what I achieved last year as a player,” he added. “Last year I showed over a long season that I was very consistent and I want to get back there.

“And also for the team: show that we are still hungry to win trophies and not show that we have fallen behind. I think this year we still show how hungry we are by scoring late against Wolves and then the passion we showed in the celebration.

“So that shows we still want to fight for more trophies.”

“The players we are and the type of people we are, we are grounded. But I think the players we have in transition, with all their experience and the manager, I think they keep us grounded too. It's good to be a part of this team.

Rio Ferdinand said Haaland's stunning strike against Sparta Prague gave him “Zlatan Ibrahimovic vibes”.

The Norwegian leapt to Savinho's cross and struck the ball with a stunning back-heel that stunned Sparta goalkeeper Vindahl.

“It was like kung fu. It was ridiculous,” said TNT Sports pundit Ferdinand.

“We've seen him do this before, that's the charisma of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Her body is able to get into positions that not many people can and control the football.”

“It takes your breath away how he can get this far. Nobody else scores this goal.”

“You also have to know your body to push your body to such an extreme. He obviously does a lot off the pitch to make that possible for him. The strength, the flexibility, a wonderful footballer.”

Steve McManaman echoed Ferdinand's thoughts, saying: “When people talk about goals in a year and shots from outside the box, most people can score them. But you're talking about one in a hundred people who can score that goal. “That’s why.” is so, so special.