Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are inescapably entering the twilight of their respective careers.

It will be a couple of sad days for football when they both retire and fans have so often wondered who will fill the void. 

The emergence of Kylian Mbappe has offset that disappointment for a few years, at least. 

The Frenchman has widely been proclaimed as the heir to the duo's crown and at this rate looks certain to win a Ballon d'Or at some stage. 

However, as Borussia Dortmund beat PSG 2-1 on Tuesday night, attention turned to the one 19-year-old who may be capable of usurping the World Cup winner's throne: Erling Braut Haaland. 

The teenage Norwegian scored a brace, ensuring he was in the right place at the right time for the first and then nearly breaking the net with the second. 

That meant a frustrating night for the Parisians, who could only find a consolation through Neymar. 

While Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid were busy spoiling against Liverpool in the Wanda Metropolitano, the Westfalenstadion played host to some of the most exciting young talent in the game. 

In Haaland and Mbappe, we may have on our hands the two forces who will go on to dominate world football over the course of the decade. 

Some are even backing the former to turn Norway into a dark horse for the 2020 European Championships. 

Mbappe has already achieved so much, having won the 2017 Golden Boy award, three Ligue 1 titles, a World Cup and a Coupe de la Ligue. 

Haaland, on the other hand, is just getting started.

No player has scored 10 Champions League goals in so few games (he already had eight thanks to his breakout spell at RB Salzburg) and he now has 11 goals in his first seven matches at his new club. 

It's the Champions League where he has been making a global impact, but he has also been ruthless in the Bundesliga.

Any doubts about whether his talents would transfer to one of the top European leagues have been silenced immediately as he averages a goal every 50 minutes. 

Given his low release clause of just €60m (£51m), it seems there's a good chance he'll be on the market again relatively soon and Dortmund will just have to make the most of him while they can. 

Mbappe, likewise, has been linked with a summer move away from PSG, with both Real Madrid and Liverpool reportedly interested. 

It would be fascinating to see the pair going head-to-head in the same league as we did with Messi and Ronaldo as they battle it out to become the world's greatest in the years to come.