COMMENT: In the most difficult of settings, Wolfsburg turned the Bundesliga champions over on an emotional night at the Volkswagen Arena
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BAY Draw 
S04 
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=BAY Draw S04 
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=BAY Draw S04 
Kevin de Bruyne delivered a stunning memorial to his friend, compatriot and team-mate Junior Malanda in Wolfsburg's 4-1 defeat of Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Friday. The former Chelsea man scored two and created plenty more besides on a stirring night on which he and his team-mates mourned their colleague.
Malanda's passing on January 10 had left Wolfsburg unified in grief with uncertainty over how they would react on the field to such a devastating loss. Not only that but it was reigning champions Bayern Munich who lay in wait for the first match of the second half of the season.
Pep Guardiola's side were 11 points clear of Wolfsburg, in second, before kick-off and were widely tipped to make that total 14 by the end of the night. De Bruyne and Wolfsburg, nonetheless, had their own destiny to fulfil. The 23-year-old and his team-mates put in the performance of the season in hugely difficult circumstances to move to within eight of Bayern at the top.
Proceedings were briefly held up at the Volkswagen Arena as the home crowd laid on their moving tribute to Malanda. There was a beautifully co-ordinated fan display featuring a portrait of the 20-year-old along with the words "Forever in our hearts". The Wolfsburg players were moved to tears by the minute's applause and subsequent moment of reflection offered in memory of Malanda - with a clearly emotional De Bruyne coming in for particular focus. It was a poignant night and these must certainly have been difficult circumstances in which to play a mere game of football.
Not only did they play but Wolfsburg arguably delivered the most stunning display of Dieter Hecking's reign. They ripped the Bayern Munich team to shreds in a manner not seen here since 2009 when Grafite shone in a 5-1 win during their title-winning campaign. Bayern had conceded four goals in about 25 hours of football during the first half of this Bundesliga season. It took 71 minutes for Wolfsburg to add the next four.
This was a performance for the ages and capably delivered with Kevin de Bruyne at the heart of it. Bas Dost scored two outstanding goals to put Wolfsburg into an unlikely 2-0 half-time lead and much of the credit for that lay at the sparkling feet of De Bruyne. It was the ex-Chelsea man who nudged the ball expertly into the Dutchman's path to open the scoring after only three minutes. Dost's volley on the stroke of half-time was majestic and all his own work.
With Bayern there always exists the threat of a comeback, however, no matter how far behind. The goal scored by De Bruyne, then, just after the 50 minute mark, was crucial. The excellent Max Arnold played a through ball which caught the Bayern defence playing an offside line in the Wolfsburg half. From there, De Bruyne kept his composure to slot a shot past the world's best goalkeeper with ease.
And while Bayern jolted the nerves of the home side with a quick-fire reply, they would have no luck in overhauling a side intent on giving Malanda a sensational send off.
De Bruyne saved the best for last. He squared up Dante off another Arnold through ball and rammed a left-footed shot high into Neuer's near post to seal a 4-1 win.
"We've played a great game of football," said Dieter Hecking afterwards. "You need a perfect day to beat Bayern like that."
Aside from nudging the ball into the path of Juan Bernat for his goal, Robert Lewandowski toiled. Combine that with a backline which looked ill-equipped to deal with a tactic as rudimentary as a straight ball over the top and you have all the ingredients for Bayern's worst display since Guardiola took over. "They got an early goal and we couldn't control their counter in the first half," was his immediate assessment.
Let that not detract from what we saw here though. This was about a team coming together to honour a fallen comrade and delivered to them by the man who knew him best. A eulogy never sounded so sweet. RIP Junior.