With Mark's goal, Wolfsburg achieved a dream start at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Stuttgart's coach Stevens, standing on the sidelines, also tried to suppress his inner frustration and helplessness, cheering on his disciples: "Don't overthink it!"
"Stay focused on the game!"
"It's only one goal down!"
"This is our home ground!"
Under the encouragement of their coach, the Stuttgart players also calmed down slightly and re-entered the game.
After the kickoff, Stuttgart, playing at home, continued to launch wave after wave of fierce attacks amidst the cheers of their fans.
In their opinion, even if they were behind, they had to continue to play offensively.
Whether for victory or to defend their home ground and fans!
Stuttgart's all-out offensive did yield some results.
At least they pushed the attack to the edge of the penalty area, posing a threat to the goal guarded by Benaglio.
Among them, Kostić's cross almost helped Werner score with a tap-in.
However, Werner's sliding shot went slightly wide of the goal...
Werner, who missed the goal, angrily punched the turf before quickly getting up and running back.
Although there was no goal, this attack still earned applause from the home fans.
Especially Werner's performance brought a sense of comfort to the fans amidst the team's poor record.
"Werner, only eighteen years old, has already played over forty matches for Stuttgart, truly another young genius in the Bundesliga!"
"His appearance also gives many Stuttgart fans hope for the team's future..."
In March of last season, Stuttgart's coach was replaced, and former Schalke coach Stevens took over.
Although the team was unstable and coaches changed frequently, the eighteen-year-old Timo Werner still earned the trust of the coaches.
In this match, he also started, playing as the team's lone striker.
Under Stuttgart's tactical system, his Speed and breakthroughs are definitely weapons to tear apart the opponent's defense.
However, with the formation pushed forward, there isn't much longitudinal space left for him to accelerate and sprint.
Instead, he has to make more penetrating runs, using his relatively frail body to contend for aerial balls with tall center-backs like De Vrij and Knoche. How could he possibly gain the upper hand?
Watching Werner actively run on the field, yet barely touching the ball, Mark couldn't help but shake his head.
In Stuttgart, Werner is destined not to be able to fully utilize his characteristics.
A Speed-type striker like Werner is best suited to play for teams that primarily focus on defensive counter-attacks.
Once a quick counter-attack is launched, there will be large open spaces for him to sprint freely!
Just like this match against Wolfsburg.
If Stuttgart played defensive counter-attacks at home and used quick counter-attacks to threaten Wolfsburg, with Werner's Speed, he would surely wreak havoc on Wolfsburg's defense.
But Stuttgart coach Stevens insisted on not doing so!
He wanted to raise the flag of offense and engage Wolfsburg in an attacking battle!
For Wolfsburg, who primarily focuses on combining wing and central play, Stuttgart engaging in an attacking battle with them was seeking death!
Once the game tempo is at its maximum, the space and weaknesses for both sides will become greater.
Indeed, in the twenty-third minute, Stuttgart's midfielder Gentner had just taken a long-range shot outside the penalty area, and Benaglio immediately launched a counter-attack with a hand throw!
The ball arced through the air and landed right in front of left-back R. Rodriguez.
Without needing to stop the ball, he dribbled it forward and crossed the halfway line.
Then, a through pass found Mark in front.
Receiving the ball again, and once more facing Stuttgart's right-back Gotoku Sakai, Mark dropped his shoulder and took a step, feigning an inside cut.
Seeing this, Gotoku Sakai, who was initially guarding the outside, was startled and quickly turned, attempting to block Mark's path for an inside cut.
However, this was exactly what Mark wanted!
The moment he turned around, Mark used the outside of his left foot to push the ball outwards, simultaneously taking a touch forward, and then suddenly accelerated, overtaking him from the outside!
"Beautiful dribble!"
Having dribbled past Gotoku Sakai from the outside, Mark pulled the ball inwards with his left foot, then gently flicked it with his right, once again dribbling past the charging defensive midfielder Romero.
Unfortunately, this time, Romero had learned his lesson.
The moment their bodies crossed paths, the former Barça defensive midfielder directly extended both hands and hugged Mark around the waist!
Helplessly, Mark's supercar, which had already picked up Speed, was forced to stop.
This obvious tactical foul not only earned Romero a yellow card but also gave Wolfsburg a free-kick opportunity on the left side, just outside the penalty area.
After the foul, Romero didn't feel anything wrong; instead, he felt the foul was very necessary and worthwhile.
If Mark were allowed to continue cutting inside and shoot from the edge of the penalty area, the consequences would be unimaginable.
After all, the previous goal was scored in exactly that way!
However, his action was met with a scolding from captain Gentner: "Oriol (Romero)! I told you not to foul near the penalty area and give away free kicks!"
"But if he got past, he could have shot..."
"Even so, don't give the opponent a free kick within thirty meters of the goal!"
"You have no idea how powerful his free kicks are..."
Hearing this, Romero couldn't help but mutter to himself: "How powerful can it be? Can it be more powerful than Messi?"
The foul occurred approximately twenty-eight meters from the goal, slightly to the left.
Mark, wearing the number ten, stood before the ball.
He first observed the height of the wall, then looked at the goalkeeper's positioning behind the wall, and finally stepped back a few paces.
"Whew..."
Exhaling softly, Mark's eyes suddenly became extremely sharp, staring intently at the ball.
The next second, accompanied by the referee's whistle, he charged directly towards the ball with rhythmic steps!
Arm raised, leg swung, shot!
The moment the inside of his foot contacted the ball, Mark's right calf muscle suddenly tensed, and his gastrocnemius muscle bulged significantly!
Bang!
The ball transformed into a cannonball, shooting out!
It first soared high over the wall, then abruptly paused in the air, and began to descend rapidly!
Although Stuttgart goalkeeper Ulreich anticipated it and took a step towards the near post.
However, Mark's Elevator ball was incredibly tricky, and its Speed was not slow.
By the time he dived to make a save, the ball had already tucked itself just under the crossbar and into the goal!
With a swish, the white net rippled... Immediately after, the entire Mercedes-Benz Arena was once again engulfed by the cheers of the away fans!
"GOAL!!!"
"A brace!"
"An unparalleled direct free-kick goal!"
"Mark Lane! The Bundesliga's top scorer has once again breached Stuttgart's goal!"
"Ulreich could only look on in despair!"
"This is Lane's twelfth League goal!"
After scoring, Mark did not run to celebrate in front of the away fans; instead, he stood in place, arms outstretched, a wide smile on his face!
That calm and confident smile also won people over.
Not far away, Romero, who had witnessed such a spectacular free-kick firsthand, was dumbfounded.
At this moment, he finally understood why Gentner was so annoyed by his foul that gave away a set piece.
Holy crap!
He really treats free kicks like penalty kicks?!
With Mark's Elevator ball goal, the morale of the Stuttgart players was utterly shattered.
They had pushed their formation forward, relentlessly launching attack after attack, yet they couldn't breach the opponent's goal.
But Mark, with just a slight effort, had scored two goals!
They all looked at the black-haired youth, their hearts filled with bitterness.
And watching Mark, surrounded by his teammates, Werner's eyes also showed a hint of admiration.
It should be noted that since his debut, he has also carried titles such as "Young Genius" and "Prodigy."
However, in front of Mark, he felt the opponent's strength was beyond his reach!
"He is only a few months older than me, and plays the same position, yet he is so outstanding."
"Whether it's his dazzling and elegant dribbling, or his unstoppable free kicks, no one can stop him..."
"The gap between me and him is too great..."
Less than thirty minutes into the first half, and already two goals down.
Stuttgart's coach Stevens suddenly found himself in a dilemma.
If they continued to push forward and attack, the huge spaces left behind would surely be exploited by Wolfsburg.
With the attacking quality of Mark and Wolfsburg, this match could very well turn into a massacre!
However, being two goals down, was it too late to park the bus now?
After much deliberation and discussion with the coaching staff, Stevens still made a decision:
Better to die standing than live kneeling!
Continue to attack!!!
Of course, to prevent Mark from scoring further, Stevens also made targeted defensive arrangements.
For example, assigning a defensive midfielder to stick close to him, blocking his routes to receive the ball!
Since they couldn't stop Mark from dribbling, they would stop him from receiving the ball in the first place!
And so, Mark found a bald shadow following him everywhere.
Indeed, the Stuttgart player closely marking him was none other than the defensive midfielder Romero, on loan from Chelsea!
No matter if he went left or right, Romero stuck close.
As soon as he showed any intention of receiving the ball, Romero would immediately get tight, then warn the Wolfsburg player passing the ball with his eyes:
Try passing it here!
Such treatment made Mark recall the famous Premier League scene of "Herrera freezing Hazard."
And he had become Hazard, while Herrera had become Romero!
Originally, assigning the team's best defensive midfielder to mark Mark was a very correct and normal thing to do.
And the effect was quite good.
Seeing a bald tough guy closely following Mark, his teammates also found it difficult to pass the ball to him, for fear of it being intercepted.
In just two minutes, Mark couldn't even touch the ball!
However, by reading the opponent's defensive strategy, Mark quickly thought of a way to break through:
He began to make penetrating runs, constantly moving into open spaces to receive the ball!
He wasn't like Hazard, who was too lazy to run off the ball and just waited on the wing for teammates to pass.
On the contrary, he would run into open spaces in every game, making it easier for his teammates to pass.
Originally, running into open space to receive the ball is a basic skill for a professional player.
As long as you receive the ball in open space, the distance between the defender and yourself will be greater, and the defensive intensity you face will also decrease.
If you just stick to the wing, the opponent only needs to deploy heavy defenses, and the difficulty of receiving and breaking through will increase exponentially!
Therefore, from the very beginning, he would constantly observe his position, the opponent's position, and look for open spaces to receive the ball on the field.
As Mark ran off the ball, Romero was also forced to run.
However, compared to Mark, his Speed was ridiculously slow.
At first, Romero could barely keep up with Mark.
But after Mark increased his running Speed, he simply couldn't stop Mark from receiving the ball!
Because every time Mark ran into open space to receive the ball, Romero would only just arrive behind him.
With a yellow card hanging over him, Romero also didn't dare to make any rough fouls on Mark from behind.
This tactic, apart from creating a little trouble for Mark, did not serve to freeze the opponent's core player.
On the contrary, because Romero left his central defensive zone, Stuttgart's defensive line lost its protective screen.
In the thirty-eighth minute, Mark roamed to the center to receive the ball.
After receiving Arnold's pass, he immediately turned and distributed the ball to Vieirinha on the right wing.
The latter advanced with the ball, then played a wall pass (one-two) with Mark, who had come to support, successfully breaking through Stuttgart's entire defensive line.
Looking up and observing Bendtner, who was making a run to the near post in the center, Vieirinha, who had gone to the byline, sent a decisive cut-back pass!
"Pass!"
"Cut-back!"
The ball rolled tightly along the turf to the edge of the penalty area.
And a white figure suddenly burst into the sight of the Stuttgart defenders.
It was the number ten, Mark Lane, who had followed up immediately after passing the ball!
"Don't let him shoot!"
Accompanied by Ulreich's shout, Stuttgart center-back Rüdiger rushed forward, attempting to block Mark's shot with his body.
However, Mark was merciless, directly striking the ball with a low, driven shot!
It's worth noting that the "shadow" Romero only arrived belatedly at the moment Mark swung his leg to shoot!
Bang!
The ball, hugging the turf, flew precisely between the legs of Stuttgart center-back Rüdiger.
Perhaps his vision was blocked by the defender, but Ulreich hadn't even had time to react before the ball flew out from among the crowd of players.
It was too late to make a move now!
The ball drilled straight into the near post, stirring up layers of white waves!
The next second, the entire Mercedes-Benz Arena was ignited for the third time by the away fans!
With a "boom," every away fan erupted in astonishing cheers.
Some waved their scarves, while others clutched their heads, displaying expressions of disbelief.
"GOAL!!!"
"Goal!"
"In just thirty-eight minutes, Mark Lane has scored a hat-trick!"
"This is the Wolfsburg prodigy's first hat-trick of his professional career!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, please remember this moment; you are witnessing the birth of a superstar!"