Wolfsburg's League campaign in March began with a defeat, losing away to Hoffenheim.
The four-game winning streak in the League was broken, which also allowed Wolfsburg's players and coach to calm down.
This is the Bundesliga, and every opponent has the ability to defeat them!
However, the performance of the team's young talent, Mark Lane, in his first start, received widespread praise from the media and fans.
At eighteen years old, being able to start in the Bundesliga is already very rare.
But, with three goals and four assists in six substitute appearances, and two consecutive games with a goal and an assist against strong opponents, it made people exclaim, "Genius!"
It should be noted that the last eighteen-year-old to deliver such a stunning performance was "Super Mario" Mario Götze several years ago!
Moreover, Götze achieved this while starting every game!
In an interview, Wolfsburg's director Allofs also highly praised Mark Lane:
"We are delighted to have unearthed a gem; he just needs continued polishing, and he is destined to emit his own brilliant light!"
In addition to the talented young player Mark Lane, who burst onto the scene this season, the speed at which De Bruyne, the club's record signing from the winter transfer window, adapted to the team was also pleasing.
He contributed two goals and three assists in six League starts!
And Bild also commented on his performance:
"This Belgium talent, after returning to the Bundesliga, has effectively filled the void left by Diego's departure."
"And with his active running and incisive passing, he has injected vitality and passion into the team's pursuit of Champions League qualification!"
Meanwhile, Süddeutsche Zeitung focused on the chemistry between Mark Lane and De Bruyne:
"Perhaps it's the mutual appreciation between geniuses; Kevin De Bruyne and Mark Lane, these two post-90s youngsters, seem to have an unspoken chemical reaction."
"The two repeatedly executed exquisite passing and movement on the field, tearing open the opponent's defense time and again..."
"One used dazzling footwork to toy with defenders, while the other used surgical-precision through passes, working together to dismantle the opponent's defense..."
Looking at the reports about himself in the newspaper, Mark Lane was delighted.
These media outlets are quite good at hyping things up... Just then, a voice interrupted his thoughts:
"Mark Lane, it's your turn!"
Turning his head, he saw De Bruyne holding a game controller, looking at him with a challenging expression:
"My defeated opponent, are you ready to be crushed by me?"
Hearing this, Mark Lane casually tossed aside the newspaper in his hand, stood up abruptly, and looked at De Bruyne with burning eyes:
"My Kobe is already hungry for battle!"
After losing to De Bruyne in NBA2K last time, Mark Lane immediately ordered two PS4 consoles online, which had only been released a few months prior.
One for himself, and the other for De Bruyne!
Faced with this sudden gift, De Bruyne was a bit at a loss.
Although the price of four hundred euros was not a valuable gift for De Bruyne, who earns several million euros annually.
However, it was the first gift he had received at Wolfsburg!
He instinctively started to refuse the gift but was persuaded by Mark Lane's explanation:
"Take it quickly! That way, when I defeat you, you can't use the excuse of different consoles to back out!"
It turned out that Mark Lane noticed De Bruyne's console was still the old PS3 version, which is why he chose to buy an extra PS4 for him.
In Mark Lane's opinion, giving a friend a game console is the same as taking a friend for a foot massage.
It's a casual gesture!
Besides, building a good relationship with De Bruyne would mean De Bruyne would pass him the ball more often on the field.
Since then, Mark Lane would occasionally come over to De Bruyne's house to play games.
Following De Bruyne into the room, they saw Malanda, a black guy in a tracksuit, sitting on a chair with his hands on his head, looking as if he was questioning life.
"What's with him?"
"Don't mind him, he hasn't won a single game."
Hearing this, Mark Lane walked over, clapped Malanda on the shoulder without mercy, and then added with a jab:
"Move aside, noob. I'll avenge you!"
Malanda, who had already lost all hope, just quietly moved aside.
After sitting down and grabbing the controller, Mark Lane immediately chose the Los Angeles Lakers.
De Bruyne, on the other hand, chose the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Soon, the room was filled with passionate sounds:
"Three-pointer, swish!"
"How can you possibly defend my Black Mamba, fadeaway jumper!"
"My LeBron isn't a pushover either, Euro step dunk!"
"Nice!"
...Regular team training every day, then self-disciplined extra practice, occasionally playing games with De Bruyne and Malanda in the evenings, posting cool photos on social media, dealing with private messages and harassment from some online female influencers... Mark Lane's Japanese was very fulfilling.
Soon, another weekend arrived, and the Bundesliga welcomed its twenty-fourth League round.
Wolfsburg and Mark Lane hosted the Bundesliga hegemon, "The Southern Star" Bayern Munich!
This was a clash between the League leaders and the fourth-placed team.
However, in the pre-match media predictions, almost all media favored Bayern to win.
Although Wolfsburg had a very strong home record this season.
But they were facing Bayern, who were undefeated against all opponents in the Bundesliga!
Coupled with the last-minute defeat by Hoffenheim in the previous round, the media estimated that Wolfsburg's morale had been somewhat affected.
Of course, Wolfsburg was not an easy opponent either.
In the first leg between the two teams this season, Wolfsburg, playing away at the Allianz Arena, only narrowly lost by one goal.
Moreover, Bayern was affected by competing on multiple fronts, and many of their national team players had just returned from international matches, so their physical condition was also a concern.
Of course, Guardiola had many more options at his disposal than Wolfsburg.
The depth of a powerhouse's bench is so great that they can even field two luxurious lineups!
Since the team was already twenty points ahead of the second-placed team, Bayern coach Guardiola also made extensive rotations in the lineup.
Even so, the starting lineup announced before the match made Wolfsburg fans and Mark Lane gasp in surprise:
Bayern, terrifying as ever!
Guardiola deployed a 4-3-3 formation, and the starting eleven were:
Neuer in goal, with four defenders: Rafinha, Jérôme Boateng, Dante, and Alaba.
The midfield trio consisted of Lahm, Shaqiri, and Kroos.
The two wingers were the formidable wing duo that dominated world football—Robben and Ribéry!
Leading the line was the unique "space reader" in all of football, Thomas Müller!
In addition to the star-studded starting lineup, Bayern's bench also included a host of superstars such as Xavi Martínez, Schweinsteiger, Thiago, and Mandzukic... It's worth mentioning that "Super Mario" Götze didn't even make the squad list!
One can imagine how terrifying this Bayern squad truly was...