As one of the Bundesliga teams with the most incisive set-piece attacks, Wolfsburg's set-pieces have always been a talking point.
And in Wolfsburg's set-piece tactics, Mark, who isn't particularly tall, is often positioned at the far post to poach goals.
The moment the ball flew into the penalty area, Mark, standing at the far post, had a strange feeling.
He felt that the ball was very likely to come near the far post.
Although he wasn't sure if this would happen, Mark still took two steps back, confusing Hilbert, who was marking him, before decisively rushing towards the far post!
The next second, the ball's first landing spot was grazed by Naldo, who leaped up from the scrum of players.
Touching the ball caused it to slightly change direction, flying directly towards the far post of the goal.
As everyone's eyes followed the ball, they were surprised to find that Mark had already rushed into the unoccupied area by the far post!
Facing the incoming ball, Mark simply lightly lifted his leg and tapped it, sending the ball into the net!
"GOAL~~~~"
"Wolfsburg scores again!"
"The goal scorer is the eighteen-year-old Mark Lane!"
"He personally created the set-piece and personally finished it!"
"The score is now three to one!"
After scoring, Mark was momentarily stunned.
He looked at the ball in the net, and combined with the thunderous cheers of the entire stadium, he finally reacted.
He immediately turned and ran towards the corner flag, then suddenly stopped and performed a samba dance celebration!
This was inspiration he got from watching videos of samba dribbling masters like Ronaldinho and Neymar while resting at home.
If Ronaldinho's samba dance was about joy, and Neymar's samba dance was about flair.
Then Mark's samba dance carried a youthful exuberance!
Finally, he spun his body with his feet, then waved both hands in a curtain call gesture, completing the entire celebration.
As soon as he turned around, he was met by his excited teammates.
And the focus of the team's Brazilian brother, Gustavo, was on his celebration:
"When did you learn samba, kid?!"
"I secretly learned it from watching videos."
"Damn it, so you've been studying celebration moves at home every day?!"
"Next time we can dance together..."
"Definitely!"
As he walked back, Mark's mind began to ponder the indescribable feeling he had just experienced.
Could it be that the strange feeling just now was the legendary 'goal-poaching instinct'?!
To anticipate the ball's trajectory in front of the goal, and thus better complete the shot?!
No wonder they say goal-poaching instinct is a striker's most basic and important skill!
If he maintained this goal-poaching instinct, then at least when poaching goals in front of the net, he would be able to appear more often where he needed to be.
Just like "Space Reader" Müller!
This way, the probability of scoring would also greatly increase!
Unfortunately, the effect of this [Super Sub] card only works when he comes on as a substitute.
However, considering that he isn't a center forward and doesn't have many opportunities to poach goals in front of the net, Mark felt relieved.
Compared to poaching goals and 'tap-ins', he preferred to score after breaking through defenders!
Of course, the difficulty of the two is also completely different.
As Mark scored his second Bundesliga goal, the entire stadium's fans rhythmically clapped and chanted the name of Wolfsburg's darling:
"Mark! Clap clap..."
"Mark! Clap clap..."
From initial disarray, then slowly, to finally uniform.
"Mark!!! Clap clap clap..."
With the cheers and applause of the entire stadium echoing in his ears, Mark slightly narrowed his eyes, carefully savoring the feeling of being embraced, admired, and adored.
He didn't even feel the pain from being fouled!
Is this what it feels like to be the protagonist?
It's so damn good!!!
As the score difference widened to two goals, the morale of the visiting team, Leverkusen, plummeted to rock bottom.
Even when they tried to press hard, the more impatient they became, the more mistakes they made.
On the other side, for Wolfsburg, Mark had clearly become the orchestrator of the attack.
He repeatedly received the ball on the wing, constantly changing his footwork rhythm, stopping abruptly and changing direction, beating Leverkusen's left-back Donati again and again.
Perhaps with a yellow card hanging over him, Donati no longer dared to foul roughly, merely becoming a backdrop for Mark's elegant dribbling.
In the eighty-seventh minute, Mark once again beat Donati with a step-over on the right wing, then delivered a short through ball to De Bruyne, who was making a diagonal run into the half-space.
The latter dribbled to the byline, then cut back a pass to the middle, where Arnold, arriving late, unleashed a powerful long-range shot from the edge of the box, once again beating "Pharmaceutical Factory" Leverkusen's goalkeeper Leno!
This wave of attack perfectly highlighted the individual characteristics and strengths of the three players, truly beautiful.
Mark's breakthrough and dribbling, De Bruyne's positioning and passing, Arnold's late run and shot!
After the goal, Mark, De Bruyne, and Arnold also embraced each other.
And watching this scene created by the collaboration of these three players born in the 90s, Hecking, on the sidelines, stroked his chin, lost in thought.
Ultimately, the final score was set at four to one!
Wolfsburg emerged victorious in this crucial six-pointer battle for a top-four spot.
And Mark Lane, who played forty-five minutes, contributed a goal and an assist, and completed five successful dribbles throughout the match, was deservedly named Man of the Match.
The Bundesliga official even gave him a perfect score of two points for his outstanding performance!
"This young Wolfsburg dancer, with his unparalleled dribbling and excellent goal-poaching instinct, completed a goal and an assist in just half a match!"
"It's no exaggeration to say that this youngster defeated "Pharmaceutical Factory" Leverkusen in just half a game!"
And in the post-match interview, Mark also admitted to reporters that his goal celebration was a tribute to Ronaldinho.
"Ronaldinho is one of my football idols, this goal is dedicated to him..."
"My dribbling style is influenced by many predecessors. Of course, Ronaldinho has been the most beneficial to me..."
"My next goal celebration? I'm still thinking..."
As the focus match of the Bundesliga's twenty-second round, the next day's major media were all filled with reports and analyses of this game.
And Mark, who put on a stunning performance in this match, appeared on the front pages of mainstream newspapers like Bild, Kicker, and Süddeutsche Zeitung for the first time!
The covers featured photos of him striking a pose at the end of his samba dance celebration.
In the photos, Mark's handsome appearance and elegant posture formed a perfect match.
As the saying goes, handsome and flashy, I am Mark, remember me!
Among them, Bild gave him extremely high praise:
"Gold always shines, and genius always blossoms."
"Eighteen-year-old Mark Lane, with one dazzling dribble after another on the field, tells the world that the Bundesliga has another rising star of tomorrow!"