"It was a one-on-one situation and Dante was expecting me to shoot with my right foot but I teed it up on my left. As soon as I struck the ball I knew I’d hit it well. It was a nice goal."
As Kevin de Bruyne strode towards Dante, performed a spectacular Cruyff turn and fired a powerful drive past Manuel Neuer to add the cherry on top to Wolfsburg's resounding 4-1 victory, the Bundesliga title race was split wide open.
The Belgian identified fearlessness as the prime factor of his teams success "The key was being fearless and putting ourselves on the front foot. We did that really well." In fact, the opposite could perhaps be stated. The Wolves lined up in an uncompromising 4-4-2 formation to counteract Bayern's 3-4-3. This aimed to force Bayern to play more in more central areas rather than exploit the flanks, wherefore Luiz Gustavo and Maxi Arnold mopped up everything that came their way before launching direct counter attacks.
A combination of Arnold, de Bruyne and Bas Dost effectively shut down midfiled metronome Xabi Alonso, and Bastian Scweinstieger struggled to orchestrate Bayern's symphony when matched with the dynamic Gustavo, who had a point to prove against his former side.
Exploiting Bayern's ridiculously high line was always going to be vital to the Wolves, and they did so devastatingly, especially apparent when Arnold played through de Bruyne for his first and Wolfsburg's third goal. Sweeper keeper and superstar Manuel Neuer was given no chance by the clinical of both Dost and de Bruyne, who emphatically powered home each strike with precision.
Friday's match was not the first sign of a turn in the tide of the Bundesliga season. Heavy investment in North German side has allowed them to pursue and purchase several top quality targets in recent times. With André Schurrle reportedly on his way to the club, the strength in depth at Wolfsburg is more substantial than ever before.
The Wolves could well challenge die Roten for the Bundesliga title. The Bavarians currently hold an 8 point advantage, and Friday's debacle was their first league loss of the 2014/15 season. Coach Pep Guardiola seemed calm when congratulating Wolfsburg in his post-match interview, although he surely fears that a turnover may be on the cards. Manuel Neuer believed the defeat was "no catastrophe" but admitted "We know that we've still got a lot to do".
The added inspiration of playing in honour of recently deceased Junior Malanda (may he rest in peace) seems to have spurred the Wolves into a focused, driven mindset. The beautiful mosaic (pictured below) created by the North Stand during Friday's clash, coupled with the emotional celebration of Kevin de Bruyne (also pictured below) show the eternal impact that the 20 year old Belgian will have on the club. A poignant, and vital moment in the 2014/15 season. Now all we can do is sit back an enjoy a spectacle for the next few months.