Haaland’s start to life at Dortmund has, frankly, been a little unrealistic. So too, for that matter, has been his first season in the Champions League. There is clearly a glitch in the system somewhere, a fault in the algorithm. This is, after all, the most exclusive tournament in world soccer. It is the highest level of the game.

It is an aspiration, a dream, the ultimate test. Players spend years hoping to have a chance to play in the competition; many of the finest of their generation will end their careers without ever having made quite the impression on it that they might had hoped. Haaland — still only 19, still a touch raw, still learning — is making it all look suspiciously easy.

He scored a hat-trick in his first game in the Champions League, back in September, back when he was still playing for Red Bull Salzburg. He scored in his next four games in the competition, too; only Liverpool, in his sixth Champions League match, stopped his run.

Then he moved to Dortmund. He was a substitute in his first game for his new club. He came on in the 56th minute. Twenty-three minutes later, he had scored a hat-trick. He scored two more in his next game. The following week, he scored twice in his first start. He currently has eight goals in five appearances in the Bundesliga.