The situation in the Bundesliga was also very tense.
Of course, it wasn't about the championship... because after eighteen rounds, the The Southern Star, Bayern Munich, had already amassed 50 points, still leading the League table by a wide margin.
They led second-place "Pharmaceutical Factory" Leverkusen by a full thirteen points, making the championship only a matter of time.
This season, "Pharmaceutical Factory" Leverkusen, with a host of young talents, performed remarkably, accumulating 37 points and temporarily holding second place in the League;
Third was Borussia Dortmund with 33 points, and fourth was Borussia Mönchengladbach with the same points but an inferior goal difference.
Wolfsburg, with 31 points, held fifth place in the League, ahead of Schalke 04 on goal difference.
Even seventh-place Hertha Berlin was only nine points behind second-place "Pharmaceutical Factory" Leverkusen!
Excluding Bayern, the remaining six teams all had a chance to contend for the three remaining Champions League spots.
Similar to the Premier League's top-four race, the Bundesliga's race for the top four was intensely competitive.
Among them, whether Wolfsburg could break into the top four and return to the Champions League after four years was a focal point for many fans and media.
And on the day the winter transfer window closed, the Bundesliga flames continued to burn!
The Wolfsburg players boarded their green and white team bus and arrived in the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Their opponent for the nineteenth round was Schalke 04, nicknamed "The Miners"!
This was a top-four battle between the fifth and sixth-placed teams in the League!
Both teams had 31 points; whoever could defeat the other would gain a positional advantage in the race for the top four!
However, for Wolfsburg, this was destined to be a difficult match.
As a traditional powerhouse in the Bundesliga, Schalke has a long history and a youth academy renowned throughout the Bundesliga.
Neuer, Özil, Rakitić, Höwedes, Draxler, Meyer... all were stars nurtured by Schalke!
And this was Mark Lane's first away trip.
He was included in the matchday squad by coach Hecking and was on standby on the bench.
Before the match began, the Veltins-Arena, capable of holding sixty thousand spectators, was packed!
Schalke's attendance rate has always been among the top few in the Bundesliga, and even ranks high across Europe.
The thunderous home atmosphere deeply impacted Mark Lane, who was experiencing this stadium for the first time.
The blue ocean in the stands even made him feel as if he were in a surging sea!
"Welcome to Sky Sports for the nineteenth round's highly anticipated match of the 2013-14 Bundesliga season..."
"Schalke 04 is hosting Wolfsburg..."
"Both teams have performed well this season, and this match can be said to be a clash for Champions League qualification, surely an intense battle..."
"Now, let's look at the starting lineups for both sides..."
"For the home team, Huntelaar returns from suspension and leads the attack alongside Jérôme Boateng..."
"And for the away team, after Diego's departure, the Belgian De Bruyne is expected to become the new core..."
Subsequently, the live broadcast camera also focused on the young black-haired player sitting on the bench.
"This eighteen-year-old Wolfsburg youngster, in the previous League match, came on as a substitute for just five minutes and displayed excellent footwork."
"He helped Wolfsburg secure a crucial draw at home, earning a valuable point."
"It is said that after that match, the club immediately offered him a professional contract and promoted him to the first team. They clearly recognize his potential."
"In this match, Mark Lane continues to be in the squad and is very likely to come on as a substitute again..."
With the referee's whistle, the match began!
Sitting at the end of the bench, Mark Lane chewed gum while intently observing the situation on the field.
Both lineups were star-studded.
For Wolfsburg, De Bruyne, Perisic, Olić, Gustavo, Naldo, and Ricardo Rodriguez all started;
For Schalke 04, the attacking trident consisted of the Peruvian speedster Farfán, the Ghanaian Black Prince Jérôme Boateng, and the Dutch striker Huntelaar!
In midfield, there was the Miner talent Meyer;
In defense, there was "Miner Flower" Höwedes, Bosnian-Herzegovinian wing-back Kolašinac, and Austrian veteran Fuchs... Watching these faces of stars he had only seen on television, Mark Lane's heart rippled:
"I really want to go up there and challenge them..."
"I just don't know if I'll get a chance to play in this match..."
He was still thinking about his mission to complete four successful dribbles in every match... The match rhythm, with home advantage, Schalke launched wave after wave of blue attacks against Wolfsburg from the very first second.
The Miner players, clad in blue jerseys, were like surging waves, constantly crashing against Wolfsburg's defense.
Perhaps having just lost their midfield core Diego, coupled with playing away, Wolfsburg could only passively defend.
Just over ten minutes into the game, Schalke scored from a corner kick opportunity, with Jérôme Boateng assisting center-back Santana amidst a scramble in the box.
One-nil!
Schalke took the lead at home!
This initial blow seemed to finally wake up the Wolfsburg players.
Coupled with Hecking's loud shouts from the sidelines, the Wolfsburg players slowly entered the game.
In the twenty-sixth minute, Wolfsburg earned a set-piece opportunity on the right wing in the attacking third.
Ricardo Rodriguez's 45-degree diagonal long pass floated into the box, and Gustavo suddenly burst through the crowd, almost heading the ball into the net.
Unfortunately, Schalke's goalkeeper Ralf contributed a miraculous save, keeping the ball out!
Otherwise, Wolfsburg would have equalized!
However, just as both sides were trading blows and the game was tense, a dramatic scene unfolded!
In the forty-second minute, right-back Ochs sent a long pass into the open space on the right wing; Caligiuri accelerated to chase the ball but collided with the opposing center-back Santana, who came over to defend, and was knocked to the ground.
This was not a serious foul.
A simple foul call, followed by a verbal warning to Santana from the referee, would have sufficed.
However, Caligiuri believed that Santana had not touched the ball but had knocked him down, which was definitely a yellow card offense.
But the referee did not issue a card, and the hot-tempered Caligiuri directed his anger at the linesman who had witnessed the entire incident from the sideline.
The linesman, not tolerating his abuse, immediately raised his flag and reported the incident to the referee via earpiece.
And the referee, who came over to understand the situation, unhesitatingly pulled out a red card from his back pocket and showed it directly to Caligiuri!
This scene left Hecking and the Wolfsburg substitutes utterly bewildered on the sidelines.
"Oh!"
"What happened?"
"The referee actually showed a red card to Wolfsburg's number seven, Caligiuri!"
"What's going on?"
"Let's watch the replay..."
And Caligiuri, who was sent off, came to the sideline and held up one finger to coach Hecking, explaining:
"I just instinctively swore and asked if he was blind..."
Upon hearing this, Hecking was speechless and waved him off, telling him to quickly return to the dressing room.
The game was not even half over, they were a goal down, and now they were down to ten men?!
Everyone could see that Wolfsburg, playing away, was in trouble...