It was never going to be easy for Wolfsburg to replicate last season’s heroics when they lost talisman Kevin de Bruyne to Manchester City at the start of the season, although Dieter Hecking would probably have been hoping for better than the mid-table spot they current occupy.
With a top-three finish unlikely, Wolfsburg have understandably aligned all their hopes of success in the Champions League this season, although their fans were treated to a rare success in the Bundesliga in midweek, after they wiped the floor clean with bottom of the league Hannover.
Wolfsburg’s 4-0 win at basement club Hannover was only their second league win away from home and their first since October, when they earned a 1-0 win against Darmstadt.
Andre Schurrle, who has endured a frustrating time since making the switch from Chelsea last year, stole the headlines with his first Bundesliga hat-trick. The Germany international secured one of two perfect WhoScored ratings in the midweek matches in the Bundesliga (10.0) after scoring as many league goals against Hannover as he had managed in his previous 34 combined.
The 25-year-old filled his boots against one of the worst defensive backlines in the division and could have had even more, forcing Hannover goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler into two additional saves. Not only that, but he only misplaced three of his 46 passes (93% success rate), which is a tremendous return for someone playing up-front.
The German speedster was also joined in the Team of the Week by his creative teammate Julian Draxler. The highly-rated attacking midfielder has taken his time to settle since arriving as De Bruyne’s successor in the summer, but is now starting to deliver quality performances on a regular basis, with Monday’s thrashing proving no exception.
The 22-year-old scored his five goal of the season and also registered his fourth assist since October (vs Hoffenheim), as well as creating three clear-cut chances for his teammates to secure the third highest rating in the Team of the Week (9.07).
Wolfsburg’s dominance in the team is completed with backline additions of Dante and Christian Trasch, who both completed a game-high four tackles at the HDI-Arena. Dante, who joined from Bayern Munich at the start of the season, also completed four interceptions and misplaced just four of his 109 attempted passes (96% success rate).
For more stats on Wolfsburg’s 4-0 win over Hannover, click here to visit the WhoScored match centre
