VfL Wolfsburg got their domestic campaign off to the perfect start with a 4-1 win over Stuttgarter Kickers. Kevin de Bruyne, Niklas Bendtner, Max Kruse and Bas Dost all got on the scoresheet, while Lhadji Badiane netted a late consolation.
After taking four points from their first two games in the 3. Liga, Stuttgarter Kickers look set for a similarly good season this time round. They remained unchanged from their draw with VfL Osnabrück, and were keen to keep up their good form. Dieter Hecking, fresh from their DFL-Supercup triumph, made just one alteration to the team that beat Bayern Munich on penalties, as Max Kruse came in for Daniel Caligiuri.
Kruse opens the scoring
That decision paid dividends in just the fourth minute, as the Wolves took an early lead. The ball was worked out to the right and towards Kevin de Bruyne. The Belgian needed just one touch before taking aim and picking out Kruse, who made absolutely no mistake with his header. He stooped low and powered past the helpless Carl Klaus, shocking the packed home crowd.
The Kickers, to their credit, attacked as and when the could but were constantly caught out in wide areas. Klaus parried a cross into the middle of the box, though no-one was there to pounce on his mistake and Bas Dost couldn't quite get enough purchase on a header moments later. The best chance fell to Kruse once again, only to be denied by a Fabian Baumgärtel block in the nick of time.
Kickers waste two great chances
The visitors were nearly made to pay for their missed opportunities when Markus Mendler got to a bouncing ball on the by-line and whipped in a magnificent delivery. Erich Berko was unmarked and rose highest to meet the cross, but he nodded past the post - much to the disappointment of the forward and the fans.
Once more the Kickers came forward in search of an equaliser, only for another header to go narrowly wide. This time Berko turned provider and he found Gerrit Müller, who was poorly marked once again. He couldn't convert however, as Mendler tried in vain to reach his effort and turn it home.
Dost and de Bruyne kill the game
There was to be a second goal in the half, and it went the way of the visitors. Another cross did the damage, as Vieirinha picked out Kruse with a wonderful ball into the box. He had the awareness to flick the ball on to Dost, who slotted past Klaus at the far post to give them a two goal lead.
The goal right on the break had drastically affected the hosts' confidence, and the Wolves didn't pass up the chance to score a third. Kruse drove forward before laying off to de Bruyne, who rolled the ball past one defender and then curled a shot into the bottom corner with the outside of his foot. The Belgian was back to last season's best after just 47 minutes.
Manuel Fischer and Andreas Ivan both came on for the Kickers, but were unable to make an immediate impact. Ivan Perisic fired a header and a long-range effort just over in the aftermath of the substitutions before he was replaced by Caligiuri. De Bruyne was quick to cut inside soon after and try his luck again, only for Klaus to get a strong hand to the shot.
A consolation goal for the hosts, Bendtner makes it four
The game was slowly edging towards the final whistle but Lhadji Badiane popped up with a goal that the hosts' effort deserved. Fabio Leutenecker's cross was inch-perfect for the substitute who had only been on the pitch for eight minutes. He made no mistake in front of goal, powering it past the unfortunate Koen Casteels.
Wolfsburg added a fourth goal late on through Niklas Bendtner, as he pounced on a Klaus mistake and Joshua Guilavogui wasted a fantastic opportunity to score a fifth. That signalled the final whistle in a quality cup game, as the reigning champions march into the Bundesliga season first the first stage of their DFB-Pokal defence taken care of.