The Bundesliga waits for no one, not even for teams preparing for Champions League quarter-final second legs.
Three days before the crucial rematch against Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund had a league fixture against Wolfsburg at Signal Iduna Park, a match that, in any other context, would have been considered important in its own right.
With the title race against Bayern Munich reaching its climax, every point was precious, every victory a step closer to the championship that had eluded Dortmund for so long.
But the reality was that, for Mateo and many of his teammates, the Wolfsburg match felt like an unwelcome distraction, a necessary obligation that stood between them and the redemption they craved against Chelsea.
The mental challenge of maintaining focus on a "routine" Bundesliga fixture when the biggest match of the season loomed just days away was a test of professional discipline that separated the good teams from the great ones.
