Is the Europa League important? For a team like Wolfsburg, which doesn't have much of a championship pedigree, it is indeed very important.
Although Dieter Hecking had already prepared for a two-front or even three-front battle at the start of the second half of the League, after such significant progress in the League, everything was thrown out of Dieter Hecking's mind.
Which team in the Bundesliga wouldn't want to step on Bayern to win that League title?
Since Roger Schmidt wants to go all out, then I, Dieter Hecking, will accompany him to the end!
"Welcome everyone this Valentine's Day weekend to watch the focus match of the 21st round of this season's Bundesliga: Leverkusen versus Wolfsburg!"
"Both teams' players have entered the field.
First, Leverkusen, playing at home, has deployed a 4-3-3 formation.
Goalkeeper: Bernd Leno.
Defenders: Boenisch, Emir Spahić, Papadopoulos, Hilbert.
Midfielders: Castro, Calhanoglu, Lars Bender.
Forwards: Son Heung-min, Kiessling, Karim Bellarabi.
Wolfsburg's formation is still their unchanging 4-2-3-1.
Goalkeeper: Benaglio.
Defenders: Vieirinha, Naldo, Knoche, Ricardo Rodriguez.
Double Pivots: Gustavo, Arnold.
Left and Right Wingers: Schürrle, Snuffy.
Attacking Midfielder: De Bruyne.
Forward: Dost.
The match begins now!"
When the Referee blew the whistle to start the match at the BayArena, seeing the aggressive Leverkusen, Wolfsburg immediately used their most familiar defensive counter-attacking strategy from the past few matches.
But as they defended, they suddenly realized that there was a large defensive gap behind the attacking Leverkusen players.
Although their midfielders Castro and Lars Bender were responsible for interceptions and sweeping in the backfield, with both full-backs pushed up, the entire backfield only had the two defensive midfielders and two center-backs to cover such a large area, which was definitely not enough.
Seeing Leverkusen's approach, which seemed to be a thousand enemies but eight hundred self-inflicted wounds, Wolfsburg also changed their strategy from defense to attack and began to counterattack.
De Bruyne was responsible for orchestrating, Snuffy and Schürrle provided support and transition in the midfield, and the two full-backs were used directly as wingers, pressing directly into the opponent's heartland.
In the sixth minute of the match, Snuffy, encountering an interception in the middle, passed the ball to Vieirinha.
Vieirinha, who had been converted from a winger to a full-back this season, completely unleashed his winger attributes at this moment.
He dribbled at high speed down the right flank, constantly looking up to observe the positions of his teammates in the front field.
When he saw Dost in the penalty area raising his hand for the ball, he immediately sent a precise long pass into Leverkusen's six-yard box.
Dost out-jumped the opposing center-back Emir Spahić in the aerial challenge, and from 9 meters out, he directly executed a diving header.
The ball bounced in front of the goal with an arc that caught goalkeeper Bernd Leno off guard, nestling into the bottom corner of Leverkusen's goal.
"GOAL!!!! Dost's bouncing header breaks through Leverkusen's goal first! Wolfsburg has achieved a dream start!"
Although they conceded a goal, the enthusiasm of the Leverkusen fans did not wane; this showed them that a strong matchup meant a head-on collision.
Their home team's performance was actually not bad, it was just that their defense was not up to par!
Wolfsburg, continuously launching threatening counterattacks, had already put Leverkusen's defenders in a somewhat exhausted state.
Their defensive actions also started to become more aggressive, and fouls inevitably became the main theme on the field.
In the seventeenth minute, Castro pushed down Arnold, and Naldo, from 30 meters in front of the goal, unleashed a high-quality, powerful free-kick.
This shot caused the opposing goalkeeper Bernd Leno to fumble the save.
Snuffy, who had already prepared for a rebound shot, undoubtedly sent the ball into the goal while the goalkeeper was on the ground.
The continuous goals conceded in a short period of time brought a chill to the Leverkusen fans at the stadium on Valentine's Day night.
In the twenty-ninth minute, with Leverkusen's defense already teetering, De Bruyne broke through Hilbert and crossed from the left.
Dost, from a tight angle five meters from the goal at the near post, grazed the ball into the far corner of the net!
"GOAL!!!! The third goal! Dost! Leverkusen must do something, otherwise their fans will be leaving at halftime!"
The situation on the field couldn't wait until halftime anymore.
Roger Schmidt, the coach of the Werkself, who was originally full of confidence, now looked completely heartbroken.
With nothing to lose, Roger Schmidt was still very resolute at this critical moment, with fifteen minutes remaining in the first half.
He brought on Drmic, Rolfes, and Julian Brandt all at once, using all his substitutions, replacing Kiessling, Calhanoglu, and Lars Bender.
Seeing Leverkusen's stance, Snuffy, who was enjoying himself on the field, felt it was time to rein it in a bit.
He called to Gustavo and Arnold behind him to tightly mark the opposing number 7, Son Heung-min.
However, the two brothers, who were just about to go up and take a couple of shots to get a feel for the game, obviously didn't pay much attention to Snuffy's words.
Does a game where the opponent has already been beaten need defense? If the opponent dares to fight back, just let the brothers beat them up!
Facts proved that even a cornered rabbit will bite! Not to mention that the opposing team had eleven strong men!
In the thirty-seventh minute, Rolfes passed the ball, and Karim Bellarabi shot low from a tight angle on the right side of the penalty area.
Benaglio made a mistake while gathering the ball, letting it slip through his legs.
Son Heung-min poked it into the goal.
Benaglio protested that the opponent had fouled, but the Referee still ruled the goal valid, and Leverkusen pulled one back.
In the forty-fifth minute, Papadopoulos sent a long pass from the backfield, and Son Heung-min dribbled wildly down the left flank.
Finally, Son Heung-min, after beating the offside trap, poked the ball into the net from seventeen meters out.
This goal completely ignited the passion of all the fans in the stadium.
Listening to the cheers of almost the entire stadium, the Wolfsburg players began to feel that something was not right.
The victory that should have been firmly secured now felt like a cooked duck about to fly away.
They only changed three players, so how did the opponent suddenly seem like a different team?
Although these medicine sellers were nicknamed the Werkself, they wouldn't actually take drugs on the field, would they!
Looking at his disciples on the field, who had turned a great situation into this mess, Dieter Hecking, on the sidelines, really couldn't sit still.
Fortunately, the first half ended quickly, and the halftime break gave Wolfsburg a chance to regroup and catch their breath.
As he entered the player tunnel, seeing Roger Schmidt's smile, Dieter Hecking's already grim face darkened even further.
Entering the locker room, he looked at the slightly dejected players and said, "In the second half, we will continue to attack them to the end!"