Before the match began, the opening ceremony for the fifty-second season of the Bundesliga was held.
As one of the top five major Leagues, the opening spectacle of the Bundesliga was broadcast live in over two hundred countries!
Subsequently, accompanied by the referee's whistle, the opening battle of the Bundesliga officially commenced!
For this match, Guardiola set up a tactical formation of 3-2-4-1:
The goalkeeper was Neuer, who had just received the German Footballer of the Year award before the game;
The three center-backs were Lahm, Dante, and Badstuber;
The two defensive midfielders were Gaudino and Alaba;
The four wide midfielders, Juan Bernat, Götze, Müller, and Robben, lined up across the pitch;
The lone striker was Lewandowski.
Neither the tactical formation nor the lineup was Bayern's optimal choice.
Even so, pre-match media predictions overwhelmingly favored Bayern to win at home.
After all, this was Bayern Munich, the undisputed powerhouse of the Bundesliga!
It is worth noting that Bayern center-back Badstuber returned to the Bundesliga pitch after 629 days!
This man, once hailed as the future defensive pillar of Bayern and Germany, had been absent from the field for two years.
During this period, Bayern won seven major championships, and the German Team claimed the world cup trophy.
It could be said that this former defensive core of Bayern perfectly missed Bayern's and Germany's period of harvesting honors.
However, for Bayern fans, the contributions and great moments Badstuber had brought them were indelible.
Therefore, when Badstuber's portrait appeared on the stadium's big screen, the Allianz Arena gave him a warm round of applause.
In stark contrast, when Mark received the ball, the Allianz Arena erupted in a deafening chorus of boos, as if everyone had planned it!
Clearly, Bayern fans were using boos to retaliate against his confident remarks made during the press conference!
Hearing such noisy jeers, Löw, the German Team coach watching the match live, couldn't help but look at the black-haired young man on the pitch: "How will you handle the boos coming from the entire stadium..."
Perhaps others would be affected by the overwhelming boos, becoming timid, or perhaps even more excited.
The former describes ordinary players, the latter describes superstars!
However, for Mark, boos were just part of the game.
Booing is a weapon used by fans, and it is something every player must experience on the pitch.
And there is only one way to shut them up... "Mark faces Robben..."
"Brilliant! A burst of acceleration and change of direction, he's past him!"
After getting past the somewhat sluggish Robben, Mark dribbled the ball toward Bayern's "Team Captain," Lahm.
The saying "The world's best full-back depends on which side Lahm is playing!" is widely circulated in international football circles.
And Guardiola has repeatedly stated in public that Lahm is "the smartest player I have ever coached in my career!"
This is sufficient proof of Lahm's ability!
Although this was the first time he had faced Lahm in the League.
However, as National Team teammates who had fought side-by-side, Mark was not unfamiliar with Lahm.
Lahm, now over thirty, was the complete embodiment of an all-around full-back.
Especially in the right-back position, Lahm was defensively solid, possessed excellent positioning, high football IQ, outstanding ability to read the game, and stable footwork.
He could utilize his technical characteristics more freely; whether passing, intercepting, or surging forward to assist, he seemed completely at ease.
His only drawback was his relatively slight physique.
But he used excellent positioning and anticipation to compensate for his physical shortcomings.
Compared to attacking full-backs like Alves and Marcelo, while Lahm's offense might not be as dazzling, his defense was definitely superior to theirs.
Precisely because he understood Lahm, Mark treated this one-on-one duel very seriously.
Watching Lahm defend sideways while retreating, Mark first stepped over the ball twice with his right foot, faking twice. When he realized Lahm hadn't moved, he suddenly pushed the ball outward with his right foot and immediately accelerated off the ground!
Facing a top full-back who was not easily fooled by a feint, Mark's response was simple:
Speed!
As long as he was faster than Lahm, he could preemptively occupy the cut-inside path and completely shake off Lahm using Speed!
However, just as he understood Lahm, Lahm understood him quite well too.
Knowing Mark's dominant foot was his right, Lahm anticipated Mark's cut inside and positioned his body to block the cutting path!
Seeing that his first step hadn't shaken off Lahm, Mark did not get discouraged. Instead, he gently pulled the ball back with his right foot, then quickly touched it with the arch of his left foot, completing a swift double-touch skill move!
This time, Lahm was fooled by the realistic pullback and was half a beat too slow, allowing Mark to gain half a body length on him.
Immediately after, Mark dribbled diagonally inward, and with Lahm relentlessly pursuing him, he drove toward the front edge of the left side of the penalty area and then swung his leg for a curling shot without hesitation!
"Ryan is in the box... Shot!"
Unfortunately, the shot was slightly overhit, and the wind-up motion before the shot was too obvious, allowing Dante to block the ball away with his body.
The loose ball was then recovered by the tracking Müller, who immediately cleared it upfield, ending the threat.
Although he had slightly edged Lahm in their first one-on-one duel.
Mark also gained a deeper understanding of his cut-inside routine: "It's still far from enough..."
The fluidity of the movement and the transition Speed to the shot were both severely lacking.
If he could train this cut-inside shot routine to the level of Robben, then practically no one in the world would be able to defend his cut-inside shot!
Although this shot did not truly threaten the Bayern goal.
However, Mark's activity still earned applause from the Wolfsburg fans who had traveled with the away team.
One must remember that the player defending Mark was Lahm!
The undisputed number one full-back in the Bundesliga!
Such a top full-back surprisingly failed to stop Mark's breakthrough.
This demonstrates just how outstanding Mark is!
Perhaps the Super Cup victory had greatly boosted the morale of the Wolfsburg players, or perhaps it was Mark's activity on the wing, but Wolfsburg, playing away, actually turned the tables at the Allianz Arena and began pressing Bayern!
In just over twenty minutes, Wolfsburg had already registered three shots.
Meanwhile, Bayern only had one long-range shot from Lewandowski outside the penalty area.
However, just when everyone thought Wolfsburg would score first, Bayern demonstrated the ability of the Bundesliga overlords to seize an opportunity:
In the twenty-eighth minute of the match, Bayern controlled the ball.
Lahm passed the ball to Robben, who dropped back to receive it on the right wing. Facing R. Rodriguez's defense, Robben immediately accelerated along the touchline, constantly varying his Speed, leaving R. Rodriguez no chance to engage physically.
Subsequently, cutting inside all the way to the edge of the penalty area, Robben took short, quick steps to cut horizontally, feigning a shot.
Only after fooling center-back Knoche into making a block attempt did he finally swing his leg and curl the shot with a 'bang'!
Compared to Mark, who was just beginning to learn the cut-inside shot, the 'Flying Dutchman', who had been immersed in the "cut-inside and curl" attacking routine for many years, handled every step perfectly.
The ball traced a perfect arc through the air, just sailing past the fingertips of Wolfsburg goalkeeper Grün, and nestled into the top right corner of the goal!
With a "swish," the net rippled with white waves!
Robben personally demonstrated to Mark what a true cut inside looks like!