Erling Haaland’s acrobatic goal was one of two he netted, as Manchester City cruised to a 5-0 victory over Sparta Prague, ending the Czech side’s eight-match unbeaten run in the UEFA Champions League, including qualifiers. This win propelled Haaland ahead of Alessandro Del Piero and Neymar in the competition’s all-time scoring charts.Despite Sparta Prague’s impressive form, a trip to the Etihad Stadium — where Manchester City remains unbeaten in 32 European games — proved to be a formidable challenge. City’s pressure was evident from the start, with Phil Foden opening the scoring just three minutes in, slotting a precise shot into the far corner after sidestepping two defenders. Although Haaland’s first touch didn’t come until over 10 minutes later, it was a towering header that forced an impressive acrobatic save from Peter Vindahl Jensen.From that point, City’s dominance was clear, though they briefly let their guard down. A long ball set Veljko Birmančević through on goal, but his low shot was skillfully parried away by Stefan Ortega. Seeking to calm the nerves with a second goal, City pressed hard, but Vindahl denied Foden’s attempt, and Savinho’s shot drifted wide, leaving the game precariously balanced at halftime with a narrow 1-0 lead.The second half began with a disallowed goal from Nathan Aké, who was adjudged to have handled the ball while scoring from a corner. Rather than losing momentum, City used it as fuel. Minutes later, Savinho’s precise cross found Haaland, who delivered a stunning back-heel volley while airborne, doubling City’s lead in spectacular style. Not satisfied with two, City pressed on; John Stones soared to meet Matheus Nunes’ cross, directing a header into the far corner for City’s third.Haaland’s second goal was more routine — cutting inside his marker and curling a right-footed shot past the keeper for City’s fourth. The final goal came after Ángelo Preciado fouled Nunes in the box, allowing Nunes to confidently blast the penalty into the top corner, completing the 5-0 rout. A goalless draw with Inter Milan in the first group match prevents City from leading the league standings, though they join Aston Villa and Liverpool in an all-English top three. Despite the heavy loss, Sparta Prague will aim to bounce back when they host Stade Brestois in their next European encounter.Elsewhere, Liverpool continued their flawless Champions League run with a 1-0 win over RB Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena, making it eight wins out of their last nine UCL clashes with Bundesliga teams. Heading to Germany with their best season start since 1990/91, Liverpool faced a Leipzig side that had also begun the Bundesliga campaign on a strong note. Leipzig looked dangerous early, with Benjamin Šeško testing Liverpool’s Caoimhin Kelleher twice, and Amadou Haidara’s fierce drive forcing another smart save from the Irish keeper. Leipzig thought they had taken the lead approaching the 30-minute mark, but Loïs Openda’s goal was ruled offside.Moments later, Liverpool seized their chance as Mohamed Salah’s header was nudged into the net by Darwin Núñez, extending Liverpool’s record of scoring in 16 consecutive away UCL matches. The Reds threatened further before halftime, with both Núñez and Virgil van Dijk denied by Péter Gulácsi.The Hungarian goalkeeper kept Leipzig in the game, making crucial saves against Cody Gakpo and Núñez to keep the scoreline tight. Liverpool nearly doubled their lead when Alexis Mac Allister hit the crossbar with a long-range effort, but it was Kelleher’s turn to shine in the final minutes, denying Šeško once more and then adjusting brilliantly to tip Xavi Simons’ dipping shot over the bar.Openda looked to have snatched a late equalizer, but was once again flagged offside, allowing Liverpool to secure all three points and move level with Aston Villa at the top of the table. Leipzig, on the other hand, suffered their third UCL loss in a row, putting their chances of advancing to the knockout stage in serious jeopardy.Hansi’s Brutalona! Barca destroy Bayern the way nobody could possibly imagineUEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – ROUND 3TuesdayAC Milan – Club Brugge 3-1 (1-0)/Pulisic 34, Reijnders 61, 71 – Sabbe 51/Monaco – Crvena Zvezda 5-1 (2-1)/Minamino 21, 70, Embolo 45+4, Singo 54, Akliouche 90+6 – Ndiaye 27 pen/Arsenal – Shakhtar 1-0 (1-0)/Riznyk 29 og/Aston Villa – Bologna 2-0 (0-0)/McGinn 55, Duran 64/Girona – Slovan B. 2-0 (1-0)/Gutierrez 42, Juanpe 73/Juventus – Stuttgart 0-1 (0-0)/Toure 90+2/PSG – PSV 1-1 (0-1)/Hakimi 55 – Lang 34/Real Madrid – Dortmund 5-2 (0-2)/Rudiger 60, VInicius 62, 86, 90+3, Vasquez 83 – Malen 30, Gittens 34/Sturm – Sporting 0-2 (0-1)/Santos 23, Gyokeres 53/WednesdayAtalanta – Celtic 0-0Brest – Leverkusen 1-1 (1-1)/Lees-Melou 39 – Wirtz 24/Atl.Madrid – Lille 1-3 (1-0)/Alvarez 8 – Zhergova 61, David 74 pen, 89/Barcelona – Bayern 4-1 (3-1)/Raphinha 1, 45, 56, Lewandowski 36 – Kane 18/Benfica – Feyenoord 1-3 (0-2)/Akturkoglu 66 – Ueda 12, Milambo 33, 90+2 pen/Man.City – Sparta Praha 5-0 (1-0)/Foden 3, Haaland 58, 68, Stones 64, Nunes 88 pen/RB Leipzig – Liverpool 0-1 (0-1)/Nunez 27/Salzburg – Dinamo Zagreb 0-2 (0-0)/Kulenovic 49, Petkovic 84/Young Boys – Inter Milan 0-1 (0-0)/Thuram 90+3/
