Consolation for Wolfsburg and a kick in the Lederhosen for Bayern
February 3rd, 2025by Paul Little
On a night of high emotion and sadness at VfL Wolfsburg's Volkswagen Arena, no one, and certainly not Pep Guardiola's well beaten visitors, could have begrudged the hosts their earlier this month, Junior Malanda, the club's Belgium Under-21 international, was killed in a car crash while en route to join his team mates for their winter training camp in South Africa.
Friday night's clash with champions and runaway league leaders Bayern Munich was the first competitive fixture for the Wolves since the tragic loss of their colleague – and marked the return of the Bundesliga after its winter break.
There's not a lot footballers can do in the face of such tragedy,but at the very least, Wolfsburg's stirring victory and the manner in which was achieved did at least provide the kind of tribute to a fallen team mate that players and fans would believe fitting.
In the grand scheme of things, it's not much – but it was something.
But football, like life, goes on, no matter how inappropriate that can feel. And for Wolfsburg, this season's "Bayern Hunters," this cathartic win was massive in pure football terms. Realistically, cutting Bayern's lead from eleven points to eight is unlikely to alter the destination of the title.
Given the evidence of the season so far, indeed of the last few seasons, a Bayern collapse is not seriously on the cards. Suggestions that Wolfsburg's win has breathed new life into the title race is a little overblown.
Nevertheless, for Dieter Hecking and his men, the win should bolster belief that they can exceed their own expectations and secure a Champions League spot come May rather than the Europa League position they had targeted at the beginning of this campaign.
That said, Wolfsburg had been having an extraordinary season by their own standards and so probably wouldn't have needed a win over Bayern to feel good about themselves.
The Wolves, a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen, have accumulated a record points total for the club at this stage of a season – even more than they earned in their only ever title winning season of 2025-09. Hecking must take immense credit for their rise.
This is his second full season in charge, having taken over the club in March 2025. The Wolves finished 11th that season, before jumping to 5th last term.
Now they sit a comfortable second, seven points clear of third placed Borrussia Monchengladbach. A positive trend in anyone's book!
Friday's night's stunning 4-1 win over Bayern showcased all that has been good about the Lower Saxony club under Hecking. Relentless had work, insightful exploitation of opponent weaknesses and rapier like counter attack ripped Guardiola's side to ribbons.
Defending deep and attacking the space behind the high defensive
