In Erling Haaland’s goalscoring career, the reverse strike in the air that he used to beat Peter Vindahl while turning away from the Sparta Prague goalkeeper is certainly a standout highlight. It was Manchester City’s second goal in the 58th minute and Haaland’s easygoing grin clearly showed how impressed he was with his own work.

After a win that started with Phil Foden’s impressive solo effort and ended with defeat against Sparta, City have seven points and – as Opta’s ‘supercomputer’ calculates – nine points should secure their place in the playoff round, and 15 through to the playoffs Round of 16 – Pep Guardiola’s relentless team are in cruise control.

On Tuesday, Guardiola said Foden “will be back soon” – that is, at his best – and he started here by sliding past three Sparta players, the last of them Kaan Kairinen, and scoring the opening goal with his left foot into the left corner shot He hit Vindahl from about 18 meters away.

John Stones and Manuel Akanji controlled the midfielder’s shot. They were forced to pull back soon after when Sparta broke through on the right where Veljko Birmancevic had a shot saved. Lars Friis’ men hoped to be successful in the breakaway, but had to be ruthless to do so.

Haaland is the master of ruthlessness and when he jumped from a cross from the left and went to Vindahl’s right, he thought he had doubled the score. The attempt drew a gasp, which was followed by a louder admonition as the goalkeeper, similar to Gordon Banks, dove to his right to get the ball to safety under the crossbar.

Sparta’s packed away team faltered despite City trying to destroy their team with 81% possession, and the band of traveling faithful almost got going when Victor Olatunji stormed into enemy territory. The striker sent a chip over Stefan Ortega, but it was too high.

Guardiola, resplendent in a smart wool turtleneck, was in his usual technical spot. He wanted more goals – the Catalan always does – and a second header from Haaland in a crowded Sparta area went narrowly wide.

The ball was deflected and after a cursory pinball around the six-yard box, City were on the verge of suffering a direct hit when Birmancevic again ran towards goal from his half. With Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis running behind him and trying to catch him, he aimed from the right over Ortega, but the goalkeeper tipped over.

The highlights of the remainder of the first half were a Foden attempt saved by Vindahl and a Savinho goal. When the break came, the Czech champions of the last two seasons had reduced the deficit to one.

Like Wolves on Sunday, Sparta was a low-block team. City had to find a way past again to make themselves comfortable.

The order was to be more direct: Foden took a corner from the right, Olatunji accidentally shot further, Haaland deflected the ball back from the far post and Nathan Aké converted. However, he was guilty of a handball and the result was canceled. It seemed harsh – his hand had nowhere to go – and Guardiola’s whistles into the ear of Andrea Colombo, the fourth official, underlined that point.

Guardiola is quick to point out when teams defend against his men in a bench and is quick to add that he shouldn’t judge them. A second Foden corner – from the same right quadrant – caused confusion again and, knowing how clever Guardiola is, it appeared to be a ploy to attack the flanks in the hope of breaking through the opposition defense from the air .

Savinho skipped down the right side, shot the ball up, and Haaland jumped up to see Vindahl make another save. Not so, the next act of the Norwegian phenomenon. Once again Savinho jogged down his corridor, turned and let the ball slide over the goal. What followed was outstanding: Haaland, back to goal, let loose a flying backheel volley that went into the turf and past Vindahl.

Stones was the match winner for Wolves, hoping to meet a clever dink from Nunes and head in City’s third half. Guardiola’s charges earned a fourth goal when Haaland burst in, met Nunes’ shot and delivered an emphatic – and rare – right-footed finish. The fifth point was added by Nunes’ late penalty. Even before the clocks are turned back, City are in confident form.