In the goal-fest that is Erling Haaland’s remarkable career, the reverse move in the air that defeated Peter Vindahl as he looked away from the Sparta Prague goalkeeper is certainly a brilliant highlight. It was Manchester City’s second goal after 58 minutes, and Haaland’s nonchalant, what-you-expected grin illustrated just how impressed he was with his own work.

After a victory that started with Phil Foden’s impressive solo effort and ended in a garbled Sparta, City have seven points and – as Opta’s “supercomputer” calculates – nine points should secure the play-off round, and fifteen go to the last sixteen – Pep Guardiola’s ruthless team are in cruise control.

On Tuesday, Guardiola said Foden “will be back soon” – by which he meant at his best – and he started this by sliding past three Sparta players, the last of them Kaan Kairinen, and sweeping the opener into the left corner with his magic wand of a left foot. Beating Vindahl, from about 60 feet.

John Stones and Manuel Akanji provided the midfielder’s move. Shortly afterwards they went backwards when Sparta broke down the right, where Veljko Birmancevic’s shot was blocked. Lars Friis’s men hoped to thrive in the breakout, but had to be ruthless to do so.

Haaland is the master when it comes to ruthlessness. When he met a cross from the left and drifted down to Vindahl’s right, he thought he had doubled the score. The effort drew a gasp which was followed by a louder exhortation as the goalkeeper, like Gordon Banks, dived to his right to clear the ball to safety under the crossbar.

Sparta’s wrapped finish despite how City looked to strip their side through 81% possession and the group of the traveling faithful almost got going when Victor Olatunji burst into enemy territory. The attacker sent a chip over Stefan Ortega, but it was too high.

Guardiola, resplendent in a smart wool turtleneck, was in his usual technical department. He wanted more goals – the Catalan always does that – and Haaland’s second header in a busy area at Sparta was close.

The ball was deflected and after a fleeting pinball game around the box, City almost had a shot in the arm when Birmancevic once again skated towards goal from his half. With Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis puffing behind him trying to catch him, he aimed at Ortega from the right but the keeper tipped away.

The highlights of what was left of the first half were a Foden try that beat Vindahl, and a Savinho twist-and-unload. When the break came, the Czech champions of the previous two seasons had kept the deficit at one.

As with Wolves on Sunday, Sparta was a low-block proposition. City once again had to find a way to make things easy for themselves.

The order was to go more direct: Foden dropped a corner from the right, Olatunji inadvertently tapped through, Haaland tapped the ball back from the far post and Nathan Aké converted. Only he was guilty of handball, so the finish was disallowed. It seemed hard – his hand had nowhere to go – and Guardiola’s thump in the ear of Andrea Colombo, the fourth official, underlined the point.

Guardiola is quick to point out when sides are defending against his men in a bench and quickly follows up with a comment about not condemning them. A second Foden corner – from the same right quadrant – caused further disorder and knowing how clever Guardiola is, it seemed a ploy to attack the flanks in the hope of breaking through the opposition defense from the air.

Savinho skipped down the right, scooped the ball high and Haaland jumped to see Vindahl save again. Not so, the next act of the Norwegian phenomenon. Once again Savinho ran down his corridor, turned and floated the ball over. What followed was supreme: Haaland, back to goal, unleashed a flying volley that went into the turf and past Vindahl.

Stones was the match winner for Wolves and he hoped to meet a clever dink from Nunes to head in City’s third. Guardiola’s attacks were rampant, collecting a fourth, when Haaland ran in, collected Nunes’ delivery and hit an emphatic – and rare – right-footed finish. The fifth was added via a late penalty from Nunes. Even before the clock goes back, City are in imperious form.