"Mark..."
"Accelerate! He's past him!"
"Jedvaj is down! Oh no, he's clutching his knee, he looks to be in a lot of pain..."
"Wolfsburg's attack continues! The referee has also signaled advantage!"
Mark, who had gotten past Jedvaj, had no time to spare. He dribbled to the byline, then looked up to observe his teammates' runs in the middle, and with a "thump" of his right instep, sent in a half-volley cross with an inswinging arc!
"Cross!"
But this time, he aimed for the gray area between the goalkeeper and the defenders!
This was the area De Bruyne had emphasized to him when teaching crossing techniques.
If the ball is crossed into the area between the goalkeeper and the defenders, due to the greater distance, the goalkeeper doesn't dare to rush out.
At the same time, the defender at the near post doesn't dare to stick out a leg to intercept the ball, fearing it might change the ball's trajectory and result in an own goal.
And as long as their own striker gets to the spot, they have a chance to put the ball into the net!
With a beautiful arc, the ball perfectly bypassed the central defender Sebastian Boenisch at the near post, arriving in front of Dost behind him.
And the 1.9-meter Dutch striker only needed to nod it down, changing the ball's trajectory, sending it flying past Leno's outstretched arms and into the goal!
The next second, the entire Volkswagen Arena erupted in astonishing cheers!
"Goal!!!"
"Dost!"
"The Dutch striker has extended the lead for the team!"
"Two-nil, Wolfsburg is simply unstoppable at home!"
However, just as Dost was sprinting towards the corner flag to celebrate, the Leverkusen players on the field rushed towards the referee, demanding an explanation.
Pharmaceutical Factory Captain Rolfes, like an enraged lion, was the first to protest to the referee: "One of our players is down!"
"Why wasn't this play stopped?!"
"We're a man down!"
However, the referee's attitude was very firm: "This play was an advantage, there was no foul!"
With that, the referee simply raised his hand and pointed to the center circle kickoff spot, indicating the goal was valid!
On the other side, seeing the referee surrounded by the Leverkusen players, the Wolfsburg players also gave up their celebrations and ran over, wanting to prevent the opposition from pressuring the referee.
"Mark didn't even touch him!"
"He fell down himself, are we supposed to stop attacking?"
"Didn't you see the referee signal advantage?"
"If the game is stopped for that, then next time I see an opponent with a clear chance, I'll just slap a teammate down and be done with it..."
However, with the involvement of both sets of players, arguments and shoves inevitably occurred.
Fortunately, the referee blew his whistle in time to stop the conflict between the two sides.
"Everyone back!"
"Don't make me pull out a card!"
Immediately after, the referee pushed his hands forward, signaling both sets of players not to approach him, then ran to Jedvaj's side, inquired about the situation, and then gestured for the team doctor to enter the field.
After the team doctor came on and examined and diagnosed Jedvaj, it was discovered that his lateral collateral ligament seemed to have a tear!
In other words, Mark's earlier "stew-making" breakthrough directly caused Jedvaj's injury!
First losing a goal, and then having the team lose a player.
This wave of attack was simply adding insult to injury for Leverkusen!
The Leverkusen coach on the sidelines was also complaining to the fourth official, arguing that Wolfsburg's goal should not count.
"We were playing with one less man when we conceded, and the opponent showed no humanitarian spirit."
"Not only did they not care about our player's injury, but they continued to exploit it. This is simply a shameless goal!"
"Taking advantage of others' misfortune!"
However, the fourth official also gave a reasonable explanation: "Calm down, Mr. Schmidt."
"There was no physical contact between the opponent and your player, and the injury is the player's own problem. There is absolutely no suspicion of a foul..."
Ultimately, a minor disturbance was thus resolved.
Helpless, Leverkusen coach Schmidt could only substitute the unable-to-continue Jedvaj for another young Brazilian full-back, Wendell.
It's worth mentioning that as Jedvaj was being helped off the field, Mark also proactively stepped forward and patted his back, apologizing: "Mate, I didn't mean it."
And Jedvaj also shook his head, saying: "It's not your fault."
"Hope you recover soon, we'll see each other on the field again!"
Hearing Mark's comfort, Jedvaj also forced a smile: "Okay."
And Jedvaj's serious defending, which led to his injury, also earned him applause from the home fans.
The thunderous applause greatly alleviated the friction between the two sides caused by the second goal.
Perhaps due to Jedvaj's injury, or perhaps because they were already two goals ahead, both Leverkusen and Wolfsburg slightly slowed down their attacking rhythm in the following ten minutes.
Soon, the referee blew the whistle for the end of the first half.
"First half ends!"
"Wolfsburg showed strong form at home and seized their opportunities."
"Mark's two assists helped the team gain a two-goal lead, putting the game into the home team's rhythm early on..."
"However, Leverkusen is not one to give up easily..."
After a brief half-time break, both teams switched sides for the second half.
Wolfsburg continued to attack with full force.
For Wolfsburg, with the team now controlling the game, they had to continue their winning momentum!
In the fifty-fourth minute, Caligiuri's breakthrough on the left wing created a corner kick opportunity on the left side of the attacking third.
De Bruyne's corner kick found Malanda precisely in the penalty area!
Although Malanda wasn't particularly tall, his jumping ability was terrifying, even higher than Naldo's!
With a powerful lion's header, Malanda sent the ball into the net!
Malanda, who scored his first goal of the season, excitedly ran to the corner flag and gave Kevin De Bruyne a big hug!
"Thank you, Kevin!"
Immediately after, Mark also ran over and joined the two in a hug.
"Júnior (Malanda), great goal!"
"Hahaha..."
"You scored, you definitely have to treat us!"
"No problem!"
With the ball finding the back of the opponent's net for the third time, Wolfsburg had already killed off the suspense of the match!
All the media and fans following this crucial match could not have imagined such a one-sided affair.
This Leverkusen, which had defeated Dortmund in the first round and remained undefeated this season, was so vulnerable against Wolfsburg!
However, judging from the historical head-to-head records, Wolfsburg could absolutely be considered Leverkusen's nemesis.
In their last five encounters, Wolfsburg won three, drew one, and lost only one!
After extending their lead again, Wolfsburg also slightly slowed down their attacking rhythm.
Since they were already three goals ahead, there was no need to press hard.
And when the game reached the sixty-fifth minute, Wolfsburg coach Hecking on the sidelines also noticed that the team's running intensity had decreased.
Especially Mark, whose stamina was relatively poor to begin with, didn't run as powerfully as in the first half.
Indeed, the grueling battle against Chelsea had a very noticeable impact on the stamina of several key players.
This is the daily reality Wolfsburg must face with their double-front campaign this season!
How to make choices and how to rotate will largely determine the team's ceiling in both competitions.
Thinking of this, Hecking turned around and waved to Hunt and Perišić on the bench: "Go warm up!"
Fortunately, their opponent, Leverkusen, also had a Europa League match in midweek, and their key players' stamina was also affected to some extent.
Even so, they still found an excellent opportunity to score!
In the sixty-eighth minute, utilizing a corner kick opportunity from the right side of the attacking third, Leverkusen played a short corner, with Çalhanoğlu crossing to connect with Kießling, who scored with a header!
Three to one!
Kießling, who scored the goal, didn't even celebrate; he ran directly into the goal, picked up the ball, and ran back.
Clearly, he was not satisfied with the current score!
Looking at the unyielding Kießling, Mark couldn't help but think of the "grudge" between this veteran and National Team coach Löw.
With Klose retiring from the National Team and Gómez struggling with injuries, Kießling would actually be a good substitute striker option.
Unfortunately, he offended Löw.
In Löw's heyday, it was impossible for Kießling to enter the National Team again.
On this side, seeing the opponent pull one back, Hecking on the sidelines also faced a new problem.
The assistant coach also stepped forward and whispered, "Are we still making substitutions?"
Considering there were still twenty minutes left in the game and they were two goals ahead, as long as the team didn't make any elementary mistakes or gift goals, it would be extremely difficult for the opponent to equalize.
However, substituting Mark at this time would mean one less extremely intimidating point in the attacking third, one less threat in attack and counter-attack, making it impossible to suppress the opponent offensively.
This way, Leverkusen might press forward with even more impunity.
Forget twenty minutes, they could score two goals in ten minutes!
After a moment of contemplation, Hecking shook his head: "Wait a bit longer!"
After making his decision, he didn't forget to call his protégé to the sideline: "Mark, can you still hold on?"
Mark just nodded, panting: "I can still keep going!"
Since the World Cup and the start of the new season, he had been a prime target for opponents.
Almost every match, opponents would arrange single marking and double-team defending.
And in this match, after he provided two assists, Leverkusen also sent their strongest defensive midfielder, Lars Bender, to track him.
This National Team teammate was like a shadow, constantly staying by his side, not letting him get the ball easily.
Such a tracking strategy forced him to constantly run into open spaces, leading to greater physical exertion.
"Drop back to receive the ball, reduce dribbling and breakthroughs. Wait a little longer, and you can come off to rest!"
"I understand..."
Following the coach's instructions, Mark did not stick to the wing but repeatedly dropped back.
One important reason why Wolfsburg's attacking third offense was so incisive was because Mark and De Bruyne had greater freedom and could freely switch positions.
After switching, Mark became an attacking midfielder, dropping back in the middle to receive the ball and link up play;
De Bruyne then became a winger, dribbling forward and sending in crosses.
After switching, the threat of the two did not diminish at all; on the contrary, because they changed their attacking methods, they became more effective. After switching, Wolfsburg's control in the midfield greatly increased.
Time slowly passed with one short pass after another.
Until the eighty-third minute of the match, the score was still three to one.
And at this point, Wolfsburg finally felt confident enough to make substitutions:
Mark was substituted off, and Perišić was brought on!
De Bruyne was substituted off, and Hunt came on as a substitute!
Having simultaneously substituted Wolfsburg's most threatening attacking duo, Hecking immediately gestured for the team to drop back and defend the lead.
And after Wolfsburg retreated into their own half, Leverkusen naturally gained more possession and more attacking opportunities.
However, their attacks still relied more on individual breakthroughs.
When stuck in a positional attack and defense, even the fastest winger lacked the deep space to make an impact!
Therefore, no matter what Leverkusen did, they couldn't create any better chances.
Finally, with the referee's long whistle, the full-time match ended!
The next second, the entire Volkswagen Arena erupted!
This contest between two of the Bundesliga's top contenders ultimately concluded with a Wolfsburg victory!
Wolfsburg achieved four consecutive League wins!
Five consecutive wins across all competitions!
And this was also Wolfsburg's best start in club history!
Although many people believed Wolfsburg would achieve great things this season before it started.
However, Wolfsburg's strong start still astonished many.
It's important to note that Wolfsburg's schedule for the first four rounds was not easy.
The first round was an away game against defending champions Bayern, the second round against relegation-battling Frankfurt, the third round against Hoffenheim, who had fierce attacking power last season, and the fourth round directly against title rival Leverkusen...
And in all four matches, Wolfsburg emerged victorious!
In contrast, defending champions Bayern Munich were surprisingly held to a draw by Hamburg away in this round, only earning one point.
As a result, the Bundesliga giants' record for the first four rounds of the season was one win, two draws, and one loss, accumulating only 5 points, placing them ninth in the League!
They were a staggering seven points behind League leaders Wolfsburg, who had four consecutive wins!
Although Guardiola's second season start was considerably worse than last season's three consecutive wins.
However, no one believed that Bayern would simply decline like this.
Many media outlets found several reasons for Bayern's poor start:
For example, the departure of midfield maestro Kroos, the injury crisis caused by winning the World Cup, and squad regeneration... As long as they overcome this period of injuries, with key players like Schweinsteiger, Thiago, Javi Martínez, and Ribéry returning to the team, Bayern would immediately regain their dominant form of 53 unbeaten matches across seasons.
However, such a dramatic start to the season also surprised many fans and football experts:
Hmm, this year's Bundesliga seems different?!
In previous Bundesliga starts, Bayern dominated alone, pulling far ahead until they eventually lifted the Meisterschale. But now, the team at the top of the League is a factory team whose main business is selling cars and whose side business is playing football?!
And the Bundesliga hegemon Bayern is ranked in the middle of the League?!
Is this still the Bundesliga they are familiar with?!