After a 3-1 home victory over Leverkusen, Wolfsburg, with four consecutive wins and 12 points, continued to lead the Bundesliga standings.
However, the second-place team was no longer the familiar Borussia Dortmund.
Instead, it was Mainz, one of only two undefeated teams in the Bundesliga!
Under the leadership of young coach Tuchel this season, Mainz, despite two draws at the start, has been in excellent form recently.
Especially in the fourth round at home, they decisively defeated a struggling Borussia Dortmund!
Third and fourth place were Leverkusen and Hannover 96, both with 7 points!
Hannover, which ranked in the middle of the table last season, found itself at a height it had never reached before.
Hannover: What the hell? Where did this put me?!
As for Borussia Dortmund, they had two wins and two losses in four matches, accumulating 6 points, just one point above Bayern, who had a poor start, placing them eighth in the League.
After four rounds, the two former Bundesliga giants, Bayern and Dortmund, were ranked ninth and eighth in the League!
If fans of other Leagues who hadn't been following the Bundesliga were to open the standings, they might think their eyes were deceiving them.
Where are King of the South and the Black and Yellows?
Also, what's going on with Wolfsburg?!
Due to the Bundesliga's commercial development and promotion lagging behind the Premier League, the public's understanding of Bundesliga teams was limited to the two giants, Bayern and Dortmund.
Naturally, there was very little impression and knowledge of Wolfsburg.
Many fans only learned through the German Team's excellent performance in the World Cup that the German super genius, who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final at the age of eighteen, came from the Bundesliga club, Wolfsburg.
Now, with Wolfsburg at the top of the Bundesliga, coupled with continuous reports from renowned German media such as Bild, Sport Bild, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and Munich Daily, the club's popularity and attention have greatly increased.
In just over a month since the start of the Bundesliga, Wolfsburg's social media followers have skyrocketed!
It's worth mentioning that the rumors between Mark and Keeley Hazel also gained Mark many British fans.
Although many of them were anti-fans...
Many British male fans also wanted to see what kind of capabilities this German guy, who managed to defeat tens of millions of British men to win Keeley Hazel's favor, truly possessed?!
In addition, many Chelsea fans were conquered by Mark's excellent performance at Stamford Bridge.
In the world of competitive sports, the strong are respected.
As long as one is strong enough, even rivals and opponents will show full respect.
Many fans even left messages on the club's official website, hoping the team would sign Mark in the winter transfer window to form a two-wing attack with Hazard!
And this suggestion received over tens of thousands of likes and support.
It's important to note that Chelsea already had two national-level players, Schürrle and Willian, in the right-winger position.
But everyone could see that Mark was clearly better and had a higher ceiling.
As for the transfer fee, Chelsea never cared!
Just three days after the fourth round of the League concluded, the fifth round of the Bundesliga began again!
The Wolfsburg players took the team bus to the capital, Berlin, to challenge Hertha BSC.
The capital team had an extremely poor start to the season, with a record of two draws and two losses, failing to secure a single victory!
Facing the challenge from the League leaders, Wolfsburg, in this round, they fielded all their main players, attempting to secure their first victory of the season at home.
Of course, they also wanted to give the factory team a small capital shock!
On the other side, Wolfsburg adopted a certain degree of rotation.
Two consecutive matches against strong teams like Chelsea and Leverkusen had significantly depleted the main players' physical stamina.
Especially Mark, whose physical condition hadn't fully recovered.
Therefore, to protect Mark, their precious player, from injury, and to see if the team could mount creative attacks without him,.
Thus, Hecking kept Mark on the bench... If the team could win smoothly with the rotated lineup, then both could rest for a match.
If things went wrong, it wouldn't be too late to send Mark onto the field.
Moreover, to mislead the opponent, he also claimed in the pre-match press conference that Mark would be on the substitute list but would be rested for this match.
After the match began, amidst the cheers of the home fans, the home team surprisingly took the lead!
In the eighteenth minute, Hertha BSC earned a corner kick.
Former Chelsea player Kalou received a cross from his teammate and scored with a tap-in in front of the goal!
The experts who predicted an easy win for Wolfsburg before the match were also somewhat surprised.
Fortunately, the team's winning streak had boosted the confidence and morale of the Wolfsburg players.
In addition, the substitutes who got a starting opportunity due to the main players resting were eager to perform their best for the head coach!
In the thirty-second minute, after a fierce attack, Wolfsburg executed a quick passing and cutting combination, finally with De Bruyne assisting Olić with a through pass to score!
"Goal!"
"Thirty-four-year-old Olić is still as sharp as ever!"
"And the assist... it's De Bruyne again!"
"He has provided his fifth League assist of the season!"
After equalizing in the first half, Wolfsburg, led by De Bruyne, continued to press their attack.
However, Hertha BSC, playing at home, adopted a very pragmatic 4-5-1 formation, focusing on defensive counterattacks.
Despite controlling over sixty percent of possession, Wolfsburg found themselves bogged down in positional play.
Although they had already conceded eleven goals in four matches this season, their defense was a concern.
However, in this match, under the gaze of tens of thousands of home fans, the Berlin players were united, repelling Wolfsburg's attacks time and again.
The two main weapons for breaking through compact defenses are set pieces and long-range shots.
The source of set pieces largely depends on the wingers' breakthroughs.
As one of the most fouled players in the Bundesliga, when Mark was on the field, the team averaged six to seven well-positioned set pieces in the attacking third per game.
But with Mark off the field, the number of the team's set pieces was directly halved.
Furthermore, without Mark on the field, the threat of direct free-kick goals would be greatly reduced.
As the team's central midfielder, De Bruyne's strengths were passing and vision, as well as carrying the ball forward during counterattacks.
Dribbling past opponents was not his specialty.
Therefore, without Mark as a winger who could create breakthroughs, and with the opponent stacking enough players in defense, even De Bruyne's accurate passes couldn't penetrate the defensive lines of several players as easily as usual to tear open the opponent's defense.
As for long-range shots, they were more dependent on luck.
Although Gustavo wasn't on the field, De Bruyne and Arnold also attempted several long-range shots from outside the penalty area in the first half.
However, Hertha BSC had too many defenders, and their defensive formation remained very compact, leaving too little space for shots.
As a result, the quality of their long-range shots was not high.
The 1-1 score remained unchanged until the sixty-fifth minute of the second half.
During this time, Wolfsburg continuously threatened Hertha BSC's goalkeeper Kraft with long-range shots.
However, they still couldn't breach the opponent's goal again.
Instead, Hertha BSC used several counterattack opportunities to push their offense forward and completed some good quality shots.
Seeing the situation stalemated and unable to score despite sustained attacks, Wolfsburg's coach Hecking on the sidelines frowned.
Although the four-game winning streak at the start of the League had already set a club record.
However, Hecking naturally hoped that the team could maintain its winning momentum.
Especially when competing on two fronts, accumulating more points in the League early on would allow the team to be more flexible in the second half of the season.
Moreover, a consistent performance against mid-to-lower table teams is also one of the criteria for judging whether a team is qualified to challenge for the championship.
If they couldn't even defeat a team like Hertha BSC, which hadn't beaten them in nearly two years, then how could they compete with Bayern for the championship?!
Thus, Hecking immediately turned around and looked at the bench.
At this moment, Mark also happened to look at him.
The teacher and student, their eyes met.
"Mark, go warm up!"
"Alright!"
At this point, the live camera also focused on Mark, who was starting to warm up on the sidelines.
"Mark is warming up!"
"Wolfsburg is planning to bring on their ace."
"It seems Hecking isn't satisfied with a draw..."
Seeing Mark warming up on the sidelines, Hertha BSC coach Luhukay was also startled.
Originally, his team was playing back and forth with Wolfsburg at home, not falling behind at all, and even had several very threatening counterattacks.
He was thinking there was a good chance of securing their first win of the season in this match.
However, once Mark came on, their advantage would surely vanish!
"Didn't they say he was going to rest?!"
"Damn it, was it a smokescreen..."
Although he felt envious, jealous, and hateful, he couldn't stop Mark from coming on as a substitute in the sixty-eighth minute!
He replaced the out-of-form Perišić.
And within three minutes of coming on as a substitute, he used his sharp cut-in from the left wing to draw a foul from the opponent!
"Wolfsburg has a good set-piece opportunity..."
"Twenty-eight meters from the goal..."
Originally, if Lane wasn't on the field, Naldo would have taken this kick.
However, since Mark was on the field, he was the undisputed first choice for set pieces!
"Lane stands before the ball, observing the goalkeeper's positioning while measuring his steps..."
"Hertha BSC's goalkeeper Kraft is also nervously directing the wall into position..."
"This is necessary."
"You know, this super genius's free-kick prowess is also astonishing. Just a week ago, he scored a spectacular free-kick at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in a Champions League group stage match..."
"The referee blows the whistle. Mark moves!"
"Run-up... Shot!!!"
Accompanied by the commentator's suddenly heightened narration and the fervent prayers of tens of thousands of home fans, the ball transformed into a black afterimage, drawing a strange and captivating arc across the sky of the Berlin Olympic Stadium.
The next second, to everyone's astonishment, it suddenly curved just before reaching the goal, drilling directly into the top left corner!
And Kraft stood frozen like a wooden dummy on the goal line, watching the ball enter the net.
Kraft: The media said his free kicks curve, I didn't believe it.
Now, I believe it!
"Unbelievable! Goal!!!"
"number ten, Mark Lane!"
"This is the German Elf's fifth League goal of the season!"
"It is also his first direct free-kick goal in the Bundesliga this season!"
"He's like a magician, with just a snap of his fingers, he performs an astonishing trick!"
"The score has also changed from 1-1 to 1-2!"
Just three minutes after coming on, Mark shattered Hertha BSC's confidence of winning with an unstoppable free kick.
As the score fell behind again, Hertha BSC's coach and players faced a new problem:
Should they press forward and attack?
Originally, the team was defending well, and their counterattacks were also effective.
However, with Mark coming on, their defense immediately faced a huge risk of being forcibly torn apart.
Besides, to win, they had to score.
And to score, they had to attack!
Thinking of this, Hertha BSC coach Luhukay on the sidelines made up his mind, waved his arm, and signaled to his players:
Push forward!
Attack!!
However, Hertha BSC's idea of pushing forward to attack played right into Wolfsburg's hands.
Originally, if Hertha BSC continued to park the bus and counterattack, Wolfsburg would have no good solution other than relying on Mark's individual ability for single-point breakthroughs.
But as Hertha BSC's formation pushed forward, the entire defensive setup had more space to exploit.
And precisely because of this, just six minutes later, Wolfsburg executed a very typical combination of wing and center play:
Mark received the ball on the left flank near the touchline, attracted two defenders, and then suddenly passed horizontally to the center.
De Bruyne received the ball and immediately passed it to Vieirinha on the right wing, who was in a weak-side position.
Vieirinha, who had a one-on-one opportunity with the full-back on the wing, didn't hesitate, dribbled to the byline, and then resolutely sent in a low cross!
"Vieirinha..."
"Cross!"
Unfortunately, Olić, who was rushing in the middle, couldn't get to the ball first and complete the shot, even after throwing his body forward.
However, Hertha BSC's defenders and goalkeeper also failed to touch the ball!
The ball slipped past the goalmouth and came to the area near the back post.
And at this moment, a white figure arrived just in time!
It was Mark, with his black hair flowing!
"Why is he there?!"
Under the disbelieving eyes of the home players and fans, Mark tapped the ball into the net with his foot.
The next second, the entire Berlin Olympic Stadium was once again filled with the cheers of the away fans!
The live camera, and the eyes of everyone in the stadium, were fixed on the black-haired teenager who was spreading his arms and running towards the sidelines to hug and celebrate with the head coach...