The ball traced a beautiful parabola in the air and landed right on Dost's head.
With a sharp flick of his head, he instantly changed the ball's trajectory!
The ball flew past Patrício's hand and plunged straight into the back of the net!
After scoring, Dost spread his arms in excitement and rushed toward the corner flag, performing a knee slide!
After getting up, he didn't forget to point at Mark, who had provided the assist: "Great pass!"
After hugging Dost, Mark's eyes twinkled as he casually asked, "How does it compare to Kevin's passing?"
"Uh... Kevin's passing is still better!"
"Hahaha, you guy, I won't pass to you next time..."
"Hey, don't!"
Mark and the other Wolfsburg players thought that by taking the lead at this stage, they already had one foot in the door of victory.
Unfortunately, just three minutes later, the situation on the field changed suddenly!
João Mário received a pass from a teammate and broke into the box, where he was pushed down by Naldo.
The referee decisively awarded a penalty!
And he showed Naldo a second yellow card, sending him off!
Although Naldo kept explaining that he had already pulled back his hand movement.
However, from the match replay, he indeed had a pushing motion with his hand.
The referee had already made his decision, and it was very firm, with no room for change.
Subsequently, Slimani converted the penalty, leveling the score!
Wolfsburg, playing with one less man, could only retreat to their own half and hold on for a draw.
In the end, thanks to goals from Perišić and Dost, Wolfsburg held Sporting CP to a 2-2 draw away from home!
With this draw, after four Champions League group matches, Sporting CP and Wolfsburg had identical records.
Both teams had one win, two draws, and one loss.
However, due to their disadvantage in goal difference, Wolfsburg ranked third in the group.
Next, Wolfsburg's Champions League journey had two group matches remaining.
One home match against Chelsea and one away match against Maribor.
Sporting CP's schedule was the same as Wolfsburg's.
Except they would be hosting Maribor at home and challenging Chelsea away.
For both teams, whether they could advance from the group stage depended on the match against Chelsea.
Although they didn't beat Sporting CP away, Hecking was not too harsh on the players.
He knew very well that with the team's squad depth, it would be difficult to progress in both the League and the Champions League simultaneously.
Moreover, getting a draw away was already a good result.
Furthermore, their main goal this season was still competing for the League title.
On the night the match ended, the Wolfsburg squad took the earliest flight back to Wolfsburg.
To let the players rest well, Hecking gave them a day off.
Mark took the opportunity to go house hunting with his agent.
Wanting to change houses wasn't something that had happened overnight.
The apartment he had been renting was a bit too small.
And because of Xiaohei's arrival, some residents in the apartment building had complained, saying there was dog barking at night that affected their rest.
So, for a more comfortable living environment and to avoid disturbing other residents, Mark asked Raiola to find him a new place in the city center.
Raiola's efficiency was very high.
In just one week, he found several new houses that met his requirements.
After looking at a few, Mark took a fancy to a detached luxury flat in a high-end community in Steimker Berg, in the city center area.
The whole house was over two hundred square meters, with six rooms, four bathrooms, and even a private gym.
It was fully renovated, with all kinds of appliances and furniture provided; he could move in just with his suitcases.
Most importantly, this community had very thorough security measures, making it difficult for unauthorized people to enter.
Although the monthly rent reached a staggering 20,000 Euros, twenty times more expensive than his previous home!
But for the current Mark, money was not an issue.
"This is the one!"
After signing the lease agreement with the real estate agent on the spot and paying the deposit and rent, Mark officially rented this luxury flat worth millions of Euros.
It's worth mentioning that the reason for choosing to rent rather than buy was also something Mark and Raiola had considered.
Although Wolfsburg had a good chance of challenging for the League title this season.
Neither of them thought Mark would stay in Wolfsburg for very long.
Wolfsburg was not a powerhouse club.
Coupled with the special investment environment of the Bundesliga and the investment strategy of the Volkswagen Group, it was difficult for them to become a powerhouse through heavy spending in a short time like Chelsea.
If they really won the title this season, Wolfsburg's players would definitely face the covetous eyes of other powerhouses, or even be dismantled.
Once the main lineup was severely depleted and could no longer challenge for championship honors, there was no point for Mark to stay.
This was something Mark and Raiola had agreed upon long ago.
Mark didn't have much luggage, just some clothes and his collection of trophies and medals.
After calling a small truck to deliver everything to his new home, he completed the move.
After finishing, sitting on the leather sofa in his new home and looking at the empty house, Mark had a sudden inspiration.
He posted a short video of himself in his new home in the team group chat and said, "Guys, I've moved to a new place! Come over to my house for a party at 7 PM tonight!"
This message immediately caused a stir in the group: "For real?!"
"Nice! Looks pretty good!"
"I'll bring a few bottles of fine red wine to celebrate!"
"Great, then I'll call a bunch of girls over!"
Looking at Gustavo's suggestion, Mark's mouth twitched, but after thinking about it, he didn't stop him.
Professional players are all hormone-filled young men. Besides venting their restless energy on the pitch, dealing with gentle women is also a way for them to relax their minds and bodies.
This is why stars often go to parties after matches!
For Mark, throwing a housewarming party was, on one hand, to improve team cohesion and enhance their feelings for each other;
On the other hand, it was also to give his teammates a chance to relax.
In the afternoon, Mark found a local party company and had them arrange the decorations and catering for the party.
At 7 PM, he waited in his decorated new home for his teammates to arrive.
The first to arrive were the Belgian duo of De Bruyne and Malanda.
De Bruyne brought a bottle of French red wine as a housewarming gift.
While Malanda brought a box of high-end Belgian liqueur chocolates.
"You didn't have to bring anything..."
Though he said that, Mark's body was very honest, directly reaching out to take the gifts from both of them.
"Wow, your place is really nice!"
"How much is the rent?"
"Twenty thousand."
"Damn, that's a bit expensive..."
As they spoke, he led the two to the open kitchen, then picked up two glasses of champagne he had poured earlier and handed them over: "Come, let's have a drink first."
The three clinked glasses and drank them down in one go!
"I'll show you around first..."
"Okay."
As the party time approached, other teammates arrived one after another.
As the team's star player, no one in the squad dared to, or would, refuse his invitation.
Perišić, Dost, Olić, Rodriguez, Hunt... by a little after seven, almost the entire Wolfsburg first-team squad had arrived!
Accompanied by the melodious music played by the DJ, the party officially entered its happy hour.
Just then, Perišić, holding a glass of champagne, seemed to think of something and suddenly asked, "Hey, Luiz (Gustavo), where are the girls you promised?"
"I just sent them the address, they should be here any minute!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the "ding-dong, ding-dong" of the doorbell rang out!
"They're here!"
Gustavo immediately put down his wine glass and hurried to open the door.
Opening the door, it was indeed a group of beautifully dressed young women!
Watching the flock of beauties enter the house, the other teammates cheered and hollered.
Looking at these girls one by one, Mark couldn't help but lean in toward Gustavo and ask in a low voice, "Where did you find these girls? There won't be any problems, will there?"
"Don't worry, I just gave a modeling agency a call. They couldn't wait to hop on a plane from Stuttgart and fly straight into your lap..."
Music, fine wine, and women... the three essential elements of a party were finally all gathered.
Watching Gustavo dancing closely with the models, Mark curled his lip and couldn't help but complain in his heart: "When it comes to parties, you Brazilians really know how to play!"
This housewarming party lasted from seven in the evening until eleven.
Although when the time came, the happily drinking Gustavo and some other teammates were very reluctant to leave.
However, Mark still forcibly sent everyone home.
For no other reason than he had to work tomorrow.
If Hecking saw the players showing up for training tomorrow smelling of alcohol, he would definitely give them a piece of his mind!
After everyone left, the staff from the party company came over to clean up the venue and restore the house to its original state.
It wasn't until after twelve that Mark was able to lie down and rest.
Sitting on the soft sofa and looking at the white ceiling, Mark suddenly felt a strange sense of emptiness.
Not long ago, this had been a very lively party scene.
And now, it was just him again.
"Woof!"
Just then, a bark came from beside his feet.
Looking down, he saw the pitch-black dog wagging its tail at him.
Scooping up the dog and stroking its head, Mark revealed a smile: "Xiaohei, we're just two single dogs who can depend on each other..."
...The next day.
As usual, Mark arrived at the team base five minutes early.
However, when he hummed a little tune into the locker room to change, he found only a dozen or so people there.
He counted them; Gustavo, Bendtner, Perišić, and several others hadn't come.
This made Mark start to wonder: "Could it be that those guys haven't woken up yet?"
So, to verify his suspicion, he asked the team captain, Benaglio: "Diego, did you guys go back together last night?"
"I heard from Nicklas (Bendtner) that they went to an after-party with those models!"
Hearing this, Mark suddenly understood.
"I knew it!"
Sure enough, after the nine o'clock meeting time had passed, Gustavo and Bennate had still not appeared on the training ground.
It wasn't until nine-seventeen that the two of them arrived one after the other, late.
And the price for being late was being sentenced to run laps by Hecking!
Thirty laps around the training ground!
The housewarming party and the lap punishment were just minor interludes in the tedious League journey.
Two days later, Wolfsburg welcomed their opponents for the eleventh round of the League at the Volkswagen Arena—the "Northern King," Hamburg!
Hamburg is one of the nine founding clubs of the Bundesliga and the team that has competed in the Bundesliga for the longest time.
In Hamburg's long history, they have won the German top-flight title 6 times and even defeated Juve in the 1982-83 season to lift the Big Ears Cup.
Yes.
The area where Hamburg is stronger than many pseudo-powerhouses is that they have a Champions League title!
Before 1963, German football was divided into North and South, and the Northern region was more competitive than the South.
Hamburg won fifteen titles in sixteen seasons of the Northern League, which is where the nickname "Northern King" came from.
However, since the 1990s, Hamburg's record has become mediocre.
Their best League results were third-place finishes in the 99-00 and 05-06 seasons.
In the last three seasons, they have even degenerated into a lower-middle-tier team struggling desperately in the relegation zone.
This season, their form remained terrible.
In ten matches, they only managed two wins, three draws, and five losses.
With only 9 points, they were ranked sixteenth in the League.
What made fans even more speechless was their offensive firepower.
In ten rounds, they had only scored a measly four goals!
In contrast, their opponents Wolfsburg were the most explosive team in the League.
Bar none!
In ten matches, they had hammered in thirty goals!
Averaging three goals per game!
Therefore, the Hamburg players and staff coming to the Volkswagen Arena for this match had only one thought:
That losing by a small margin would be considered a win!
From the first minute of the match, the home side firmly controlled the rhythm of the game.
Although they had brought in famous players like Lasogga, Behrami, and Djourou this season.
Hamburg showed no signs of life on the offensive end.
Without an offense, there is no threat, and they could only be passively beaten.
Even though the team had only conceded twelve goals in ten League games and their defense was decent.
However, under Wolfsburg's wave after wave of attacks, even the strongest defense would be pried open.
In the seventeenth minute of the match, Dost received a surgical through ball from De Bruyne and turned to blast a shot into the net!
In the thirty-eighth minute, Mark received a direct pass from Arnold on the left and curled a shot into the far corner to extend the lead to 2-0.
In the sixty-fifth minute, Mark drifted to the right, reached the goal line, and sent a cross across the face of the goal, which Dost successfully tapped in.
In the eightieth minute, Rodriguez took a corner, and Naldo headed it home to put the icing on the cake!
In the end, with Mark contributing a goal and an assist and Dost scoring a brace, Wolfsburg swept Hamburg 4-0 at home!
Not only did they ruthlessly kick Hamburg further into the relegation mire, but they also extended their winning streak!