A historic demonstration by Haaland hosts Manchester City in the quarterfinals

When nothing seems to make sense, the goal rocks you.

comforts you.

It reconciles you with this game in which fascination is necessary to continue believing.

could well

have left the field bellowing.

He had scored five goals against Leipzig in 57 minutes, thus equaling the feat in the Champions League of

with Barcelona in 2012 (Bayer Leverkusen) or

with Shakhtar in 2014 (BATE Borisov).

But, with half an hour still to go,

decided to retire the Norwegian.

Haaland sighed.

He smiled.

And he looked proudly towards the Etihad stands, where the fans applauded with the solemnity of having lived through a historic moment, but not for that reason unique.

Because the boy is 22 years old.

And enough time to build an era.

Guardiola's Manchester City, one of the great aspirants to win this Champions League, reached the quarterfinals for the sixth straight season.

He did it after completing a spectacular and irreproachable match.

Because he is several steps above a Leipzig without the rebellious spirit of the first leg (1-1) and without the intimidation of the central

.

And because, this time, they have a special striker, the best specialist in the world, capable of giving meaning to the torrent of play.

Haaland defined the tie with three goals in the first act, to complete his memorable performance with two more goals at the dawn of the second.

Leipzig had been left lying in the ditch of the controversial play of the night, resolved by the VAR with the penalty that tore their morale.

And there the Red Bull team remained, rooted like a scarecrow.

It was all over.

Controversial penalty

It is increasingly difficult to understand football.

A point has been reached in which the determining episodes of this sport escape our gaze, too innocent for these papier-mâché times, and reality is only projected on a delayed basis.

City crushed Leipzig with Haaland's five blows,

's target and the final straw from the revitalized

.

Although, before all that, the locals found a four-leaf clover.

Rodri

and

jumped.

The full flight, and while the City midfielder drew the gesture of the head, the leather brushed the right arm of the German defender.

He had it spread out, all right.

But the touch must have been like the caress of the Manchester drizzle, gentle but bloody.

None of the footballers noticed the offence.

Neither did the referee, the Slovakian

.

The one who was in the clear was the Spanish referee

, responsible for the VAR at the Etihad, and who decided to export the usual technological delirium of the Spanish League to Europe.

From here, Haaland was able to reign without any opposition.

It was the Norwegian who took responsibility for the penalty.

The goalkeeper

was already able to hit the direction of the shot, which would be impossible for him to respond to the Norwegian's dry hammer blow.

Haaland kept running like crazy.

And he pulled on his gift of

to complete the banquet.

At 2-0 he had time to put pressure on the goalkeeper, assist De Bruyne, and go to the rebound in time.

In his third goal, he went for the ball as it passed along the goal line after a shot by

.

After Gundogan's 4-0, Haaland jumped more than anyone in his fourth so much to clinch with the left;

and, with the right, he caught the four of a kind.

Haaland said goodbye with a hand wide open.

As if it were the fly swatter with which he will rule the world.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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• Pep Guardiola

• Erling Haaland