Mark's powerful cross, which went directly out of bounds, instantly made the home fans grin from ear to ear.
The rising star, praised by Guardiola and scouted by Löw, is this all he's got?
Mark, however, indicated, "My apologies, wrong set, let's try again!"
A few minutes later, he once again used a fancy 'elastico' on the right wing to dribble past Werder Bremen's left-back.
He then carried the ball forward for several meters before crossing again!
This time, the power of the cross was good, but the curve wasn't there, resulting in it being directly headed clear by Werder Bremen's central defender at the near post.
Watching Mark's two stylish dribbles on the wing, followed by two terrible crosses, both Head Coach Hecking on the sidelines and the Wolfsburg fans who traveled with the team couldn't help but smile wryly, rubbing their foreheads.
Dost, the team's center forward who failed to get to the ball twice, pointed to his head:
"Mark, cross it to my head!"
Hearing this, Mark merely raised his hand again in apology, while muttering to himself:
"With a 'Crossing' attribute of just over sixty, it's already good enough to get the ball into the penalty area!"
"What more do you want?!"
"I also want to be like Beckham and pass the ball directly to your head or feet."
"But I don't have that ability!"
However, just because he doesn't have it, doesn't mean no one in the Wolfsburg squad can do it!
In the twenty-third minute, Mark received the ball on the wing, attracting the attention of the full-back and defensive midfielder, then suddenly sent a through ball behind the full-back.
De Bruyne made a diagonal run, and then directly crossed the ball without stopping it!
The ball traced a perfect arc in the air, precisely bypassing the 1.9-meter Congolese central defender Lukimya at the near post, landing between the two central defenders.
Dost leapt up, flicked his head, and produced a bouncing shot that flew straight into the far corner of the goal!
One to zero!
De Bruyne, who completed the assist, also clenched his fist and roared, full of passion.
The live broadcast camera, very mischievously, first focused on De Bruyne, who assisted his teammate's goal with his first cross, and then on Mark, who had sent two crosses that posed no threat whatsoever.
The camera's message was self-evident.
The commentator then also quipped:
"Wolfsburg has scored first at the Weserstadion!"
"Unlike Mark's crosses, De Bruyne's cross was like a cruise missile, accurately finding Dost..."
If he could hear the commentator's teasing, Mark would surely curse out loud:
"What do you know!"
As the saying goes, everyone has their strengths.
Although his crosses were far inferior to De Bruyne's, his dribbling was a sharp sword capable of piercing almost any defense!
In the thirty-seventh minute, Mark, whose numerous crosses had been fruitless, played a wall pass with De Bruyne on the right wing, then made a diagonal run to the edge of the penalty area.
Immediately after, he dribbled with small steps, met the tall and strong Lukimya, then performed an extremely realistic shoulder drop feint with his upper body, pretending to break through from the right, but then touched the ball to the left with the inside of his right foot, and his left foot naturally pushed it forward.
The 'roulette' move!
In an instant, before the two Werder Bremen central defenders could even clearly see Mark's footwork, he, like a dancing butterfly, slipped through before the two central defenders could close their trap!
"He's past!"
"One-on-one!"
However, just as he was about to swing his leg to shoot, he was knocked to the ground by Lukimya, who had chased back from behind.
The referee decisively blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot!
There was no dispute about this call.
De Bruyne immediately came over and extended his hands to Mark:
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"Well done!"
Subsequently, Wolfsburg's primary penalty taker, Ricardo Rodriguez, directly converted the penalty!
Two to zero!
After scoring, Ricardo Rodriguez also walked towards Mark with a smile on his face, celebrating with a high-five.
Compared to the jubilant away fans waving their scarves, the home fans all looked dejected, some lowering their heads in silence.
This was a first half that Werder Bremen fans found hard to accept.
The second half began with a change of ends.
Perhaps after a stern dressing down from the coach at halftime, Werder Bremen players seemed to wake up, starting to press actively.
But every time the ball came to Mark's feet on the right wing, they were surprised to find that they simply couldn't dispossess him of the ball!
In desperation, they also began to push and pull the black-haired boy who liked to receive the ball on the wing, bringing him down repeatedly.
Seeing Mark once again becoming the target of the opponent's 'lumberjack' tactics, Hecking quickly substituted him off.
However, after Mark was substituted, his replacement, Vieirinha, also performed very actively.
Although this Portugal international didn't have Mark's dribbling ability, his footwork was delicate and very agile, and his playing style had the quick refinement of traditional Portugal players.
In the seventy-second minute, it was he who dribbled to the byline and delivered a cut-back cross, assisting De Bruyne's long-range shot to score, extending the lead to three to zero.
At this point, the match had lost all suspense.
Hecking also substituted Gustavo for a rest, bringing on the young Malanda to get some playing time.
And with Wolfsburg easing off, Werder Bremen managed to score a consolation goal in the final moments.
This also gave Werder Bremen a bit of face... While Wolfsburg defeated Werder Bremen three to one away, in Berlin, another shocking piece of news emerged:
Bayern, as expected, defeated Hertha Berlin three to one away from home.
And with seven League rounds remaining, Bayern Munich already led second-placed Borussia Dortmund by a whopping 25 points!
This meant they had clinched the League title seven rounds early!
Guardiola's Bayern became the first club in the 51-year history of the Bundesliga to lift the championship 'salad bowl' in March!
At the same time, Bayern also set a new record of fifty-three League matches unbeaten across seasons!
The covers of major media outlets the next day were all about Bayern's historic championship win.
Whether it was winning the title seven rounds early or the fifty-three-match unbeaten streak across seasons, these two achievements were unprecedented and likely to remain unmatched.
Of course, Dortmund's early exit from the title race this season, affected by Götze's departure, was also an important reason why Bayern was able to pull so far ahead.
However, it is undeniable that the current Bundesliga is still Bayern's dominion!
Looking at the picture on the sports page cover of Bild, showing Bayern captain Lahm holding the Bundesliga 'salad bowl' high in celebration, Mark's heart was filled with envy.
This 'plate', though not attractive and unlike a championship trophy.
But it was quite unique, he really wanted one...
However, with the current Wolfsburg, which has not yet fully matured, it would be difficult to defeat the dominant Bayern.
If they couldn't defeat Bayern, then they would never touch the Bundesliga championship.
However, this season's title race was over; they had to look to the future.
Next season, once these Wolfsburg players have gelled and new signings have strengthened the squad, that will be their true moment to challenge Bayern's Bundesliga dominance!
Without him, Wolfsburg was able to contend for the Bundesliga championship, almost unseating Bayern from the Bundesliga throne;
So with him, wouldn't Wolfsburg truly be able to go head-to-head with Bayern?!
Thinking of this, the look in Mark's eyes, as he gazed at the 'salad bowl', suddenly became incredibly resolute:
"Just you wait, I'm going to take you!"
...
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