"Goal!!!"
"The scorer is Kevin Volland!"
"This substitute, a young talent, has helped Hoffenheim equalize!"
"Two-two, neither side is holding back!"
"Who will have the last laugh, dear viewers, don't go anywhere!"
Seeing the score equalized, Hecking, on the sidelines, couldn't sit still and stood up immediately.
"Mark! Go warm up!"
Hearing the familiar instruction, the black-haired teenager sitting on the bench immediately stood up and ran to the warm-up area to stretch.
The live broadcast camera also focused on this Wolfsburg youngster, who had recently garnered considerable media attention.
"Wolfsburg seems to be preparing for a substitution; Wolfsburg's number 45, a substitute surprise, is warming up!"
A few minutes later, Mark Lane replaced Caligiuri and took to the field again!
At this moment, the time had reached the seventieth minute.
"This is the 45th youngster Mark Lane's fourth substitute appearance this season, and his debut in the German Cup."
"In his previous three substitute appearances, he performed excellently, contributing to four goals for the team."
"This time, will he once again help the team open the door to victory?!"
"Let's wait and see!"
However, Mark Lane did not have an immediate effect.
This was because Hoffenheim's coaching staff had clearly studied him.
They knew his excellent footwork but slow speed, slender physique, and poor physical confrontation ability.
If he were allowed to get the ball, he would inevitably leave the full-back completely lost.
Therefore, they had the eighteen-year-old Süle, who was playing as a makeshift left-back, mark him closely and try to intercept the ball in front of him as much as possible, preventing Mark Lane from getting possession!
Facing this giant, over one meter ninety and weighing more than eighty kilograms, Mark Lane couldn't help but inwardly complain:
"This guy is eighteen?!"
Every time he tried to receive the ball, Süle would charge at him like a Leopard 2 tank!
Despite Süle weighing twenty kilograms more than Mark Lane, his speed was not slow, and with the advantage of his long legs, he repeatedly intercepted the ball before Mark Lane could get to it!
Otherwise, he would simply nudge Mark Lane slightly, easily pushing aside the slender Mark Lane, and calmly secure the ball.
Once again pushed aside by Süle, Mark Lane immediately got up from the ground and quickly tracked back to defend.
Süle, who was originally a forward, directly used his body to shield the ball and then passed it back to Rudy in midfield.
This solid defensive performance also earned warm applause from the home fans.
"Our Süle is great!"
"That Wolfsburg kid can't even get the ball in front of him!"
After passing the ball, Süle quickly returned to his defensive position, once again tightly marking Mark Lane.
The two eighteen-year-olds' gazes met, and Mark Lane saw disdain and contempt in the other's eyes.
It seemed to be saying to him:
"You can't even get the ball, how are you going to get past me?"
This was the first time Mark Lane had encountered such a tough opponent since his debut.
Looking at this stern, burly man, who would have thought that he, like Mark Lane, was only eighteen years old.
"Interesting..."
Under Süle's tight marking, Mark Lane had not touched the ball once within five minutes of coming on!
With the taunts and curses of the home fans echoing in his ears, Mark Lane remained unusually calm.
He knew very well that the better he performed, the more attention he would attract from opponents.
Being targeted was only a matter of time!
Facing such a situation, Mark Lane began to think about how he should respond.
According to the methodology of a great man, it's all about concrete analysis of concrete conditions.
He was currently being marked by a physically strong full-back like Süle, unable to get possession, and thus unable to utilize his dribbling advantage.
Moreover, his speed and explosiveness were not enough to completely shake off Süle and create space to receive the ball.
What could he do to bypass Süle and gain space and time to get the ball?
After some thought, Mark Lane quickly found a solution from his many years of watching football and reviewing match footage:
Tucking in to receive the ball!
Subsequently, Mark Lane began to frequently tuck in towards the center, creating a link-up with De Bruyne.
As Mark Lane ran towards the center, Süle, the full-back, dared not follow him too closely, fearing he would crowd his center-back teammates.
Of course, he also dared not push up, as he feared Mark Lane might make a diagonal run behind him, or the full-back might overlap, exploiting the space behind him.
In this way, Mark Lane easily broke Süle's tight marking on the wing.
Even if the center was more congested and had more defenders.
But they had to defend not only Mark Lane but also De Bruyne and Miranda!
In the seventy-second minute, Gustavo passed the ball to De Bruyne in front.
Seeing this, Mark Lane immediately made a forward run, helping De Bruyne attract the defensive attention of Hoffenheim's defensive midfielder Rudy and center-back Vestergaard.
The latter then gained more space to advance, dribbling forward a few meters before passing the ball to Perisic on the left.
"Sword" Perišić, with the ball, faced the former German defensive rising star Beck, and without hesitation, executed a bicycle kick, then burst forward!
Accelerating down the wing, Perisic delivered a cross with his left foot.
Dost, in the center, attacked the near post, extended his foot, and poked the ball directly towards the near corner of the goal.
Fortunately, Hoffenheim's goalkeeper Casteels was focused, quickly got down, and parried the ball out for a corner, thus thwarting this attack.
Seeing this, Dost clasped his hands to his head in regret, and the away fans let out a sigh.
Hecking, on the sidelines, clapped vigorously, encouraging his players:
"Well done!"
"That's it!"
This attack flowed smoothly, just missing a goal.
It's particularly noteworthy that although Mark Lane did not touch the ball throughout, his run into the half-space directly tied up the defensive midfielder and center-back.
After all, opponents knew his footwork and dared not let him easily get the ball in the center.
Seeing such a change, Hecking on the sidelines also nodded secretly.
"This kid's game-reading ability is something else..."
His tactical instruction for Mark Lane was originally to dribble past opponents on the wing and then deliver a pass.
Now, Mark Lane, finding it difficult to get the ball on the wing, very cleverly chose to frequently tuck in, helping De Bruyne to tie up defensive attention, and also providing De Bruyne with an additional outlet for passing.
Being able to change his playing style by reading the game situation is enough to show that Mark Lane plays with his brain.
Football IQ is the key to playing good football!
And he's not the only one in the Wolfsburg squad who plays with his brain!
De Bruyne quickly realized this and began to occasionally switch positions with Mark Lane, coming to the right wing to deliver curved crosses.
It was this change that made Wolfsburg's attacking patterns even more unpredictable!
In the seventy-eighth minute, De Bruyne switched positions with Mark Lane, came to the right wing, and played a one-two with Mark Lane, bypassing Süle, then immediately delivered a high-quality curved cross.
The ball perfectly evaded the "Danish Wall" Vestergaard at the near post and arrived near the six-yard box in the center.
Unfortunately, Dost, who was attacking the center, was interfered with by another center-back and failed to connect with the ball.
Otherwise, at such close range, Hoffenheim's goalkeeper Casteels would not have been able to react.
A series of threatening attacks brought Wolfsburg closer and closer to scoring... In the eighty-third minute, Mark Lane finally received the ball on the wing by dropping back.
Looking at Süle, who was a step slow in tracking him, Mark Lane was not polite, directly dribbling the ball forward to meet him!
"When defending him, never commit too easily!"
The coach's instructions still echoed in his ears.
However, when Mark Lane looked up at the center and swung his right leg as if to pass, Süle was still fooled, unhesitatingly extending his right leg, intending to intercept the passing lane.
But he didn't expect that the pass was just a feint, and the nutmeg was the real intention!
Mark Lane twisted his right ankle, gently poked the ball forward with the outside of his foot, and the ball passed directly between Süle's wide-open legs.
Immediately after, with an acceleration, he went around the outside.
"Nutmeg!"
"Mark Lane has gotten past Süle!"
His height of one meter ninety-five and weight of over eighty kilograms made it difficult for Süle to turn quickly the moment he lost his balance.
Although his turning speed was slow, allowing Mark Lane to advance two body lengths with the ball.
However, his recovery speed was enough to make up for that distance!
With two large strides, Süle unhesitatingly chose to slide tackle from his left-rear side!
"You won't get past!"
However, as if he had anticipated the tackle, Mark Lane suddenly stopped sharply, then deftly flicked the ball with his toe, and the ball perfectly leaped over Süle, who was sliding past.
Then, without letting the ball touch the ground, he flicked it with the instep of his foot and continued to dribble forward.
Leaving behind only the number 45's back, a sight that left Süle sighing in admiration...