Norwegian stars deliver in Europe as Haaland scores four

Erling Haaland scored four goals in two games for Manchester City in a week of mixed fortunes for Norwegian players abroad, as Norway awaits a key home qualifier against Wales.

Norwegian internationals experienced a week of highs and lows across Europe's top leagues, with Erling Haaland standing out as the clear top performer. This club form arrives as the national team itself is under pressure following three consecutive qualifying defeats.

Haaland was in lethal form for Manchester City. On Wednesday 14 October he scored twice in the Champions League, though it wasn't enough as City lost 2-4 to Paris Saint-Germain. Three days later, on Saturday 17 October, he repeated the feat with another brace as City came from behind to beat Ipswich Town 3-2 in the Premier League.

Berg key in Bodo/Glimt shock

Patrick Berg played the full match as Bodo/Glimt pulled off a major shock with a 1-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League that same Wednesday. On the opposing side, national team colleague Julian Ryerson came on for Dortmund after an hour. Ryerson also played the full match when Dortmund drew 0-0 with Union Berlin in the Bundesliga the following Saturday.

Larsen struggles in Palace defeats

It was a tough week for Jørgen Larsen at Crystal Palace. He started both of the club's matches but was substituted in both after around an hour. First, Palace lost 2-3 to Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday 15 October, before being beaten 0-5 by Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday 18 October.

Other Norwegian stars had more to smile about. Andreas Schjelderup came off the bench and Fredrik Aursnes played the full match as Benfica beat Celtic 4-1 in the Europa League. Sander Berge played the full 90 minutes and provided an assist as Fulham won 1-0 against Hull City, while Oscar Bobb was substituted late in the same victory.

There was Norwegian involvement in other fixtures too. Kristoffer Ajer played the full match in Brentford's 1-2 loss to Liverpool. Antonio Nusa was substituted early as RB Leipzig suffered a heavy 1-6 defeat to Bayern Munich. David Wolfe played the full match in Hamburger SV's 1-0 win over Stuttgart, and Martin Ødegaard played the full match as Arsenal won 1-0 against Nottingham Forest.