Sometimes hype is real. Modern football loves its superstars and in Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland, it has found one and now it's up to him to live up to the billing.

Sevilla, on a horrid run of three losses, came into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 against Borussia Dortmund 3-2 down and the away goals rule meant they needed two to win.

There is something genuinely electrifying about the Champions League. It's enough to bring teams in a slump like this back to life and they began as if nothing was wrong. Just as they scored early in the first fixture, Sevilla started by pushing high up the pitch into Dortmund territory.

Wingers Lucas Ocampos and Suso tried their luck early, forcing keeper Marwin Hitz into action. Just as it seemed they were getting the better of the game – making good attacks defensively, limiting Dortmund defensively – Haaland got involved.

A Sevilla free kick was clumsily defended and in the awkward scramble, Dortmund could break and, halfway up the pitch, Haaland got the ball and, seeing there was no one open ahead of him, held the ball up long enough to let his team push forward.

The grizzled young veteran Marco Reus then got a hold of the ball on the left. Haaland saw space in the box and Reus got it around keeper Bono to score a cheeky close-range goal.

It's hard to overestimate just how good Haaland is. It isn't only that he's a highly athletic 6'4" youth, for a 20-year-old player, his instincts are way beyond his years. His management of space and time in this goal feels like the knowledge of a whole team condensed into one man.

He is also the exception that proves the rule. In resumption of play after going 1-0, Dortmund were back to being mediocre. The only change was in Sevilla; now 4-2 down on aggregate, cracks began to show. Marcos Acuna's yellow card for shoving the ball into the chest of Jude Bellingham because he thought it was a throw in for his team and the ref thought otherwise was dumb.

It started to fray as half time approached. The game fell apart soon after. Julen Lopetegui must have told his team to cut every corner and bend every rule to get one over on Dortmund's ascendency.

It backfired quickly. Haaland got the ball and sprinted into the box, knocking down Fernando Reges. Haaland is too big, too imposing to be brought down by that cheap foul play; he kept going and scored from practically at a right angle to the goal.

It will go down as one of the most impressive No Goals in history. The VAR check – mandatory on all goals – rendered it invalid and instead awarded him a penalty due to a slightly earlier infraction by Jules Kounde.

Bono saved it, and the rebound, and as Sevilla bundled up the pitch, the referee blew the whistle and ordered a retake: Bono had stepped off his line rendering his heroics invalid. Haaland took it and blasted it in, going 2-0 up on the night.

In the follow up, both he and Sevilla's Joan Jourdan were given yellow cards for unsportsmanlike conduct and that set the tone for the remainder of the half.

In the 66th minute, Emre Can took it too far and shoved Luuk de Jong over in the box, drawing a penalty. It was pointless and Youssuf En-Neysri's penalty rejuvenated Sevilla. They were well on their way out and Dortmund had gifted them a lifeline.

Dortmund reacted by shutting down, closing the game off and Sevilla, already bitter, niggled away at them constantly. In the process they drew three more yellow cards – a total of six on the night, encompassing the entire defence and midfield of their 4-3-3 besides for captain Jesus Navas.

It looked like a losing strategy as Dortmund refused to break. The strategy became clear when the fourth official raised the added time board in the 90th minute. There had only been two goals this half but the drama and aggravation had accumulated to create a minimum of six more minutes to hunt for another goal.

The Spanish side pushed and pushed while Edin Terzic told him team to hold the ball, run it to the corner flag. In doing so, they kept being fouled by Sevilla, dragging things out even longer and driving the home team mad.

With seconds left, it paid off: Ivan Rakitic recovered the ball from the corner and swept it in, directly to the head of a practically levitating En-Neysri. It was Hail Mary time for Sevilla, bus parking time for Dortmund; they held their nerve into the seventh added minute and won 5-4 overall.