Wolfsburg midfielder Junior Malanda has vowed not to let his confidence drop after missing an open goal in the 2-1 defeat at Bayern Munich on the Bundesliga's opening weekend.
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With Wolfsburg chasing a late equaliser against the champions, Maximilian Arnold crossed the ball into the Bayern box after 79 minutes and it fell to Malanda.
The Belgium under-21 international's first effort was diverted onto the bar by Manuel Neuer, but the ball came back to the 19-year-old inches from the unguarded net -- only to rebound off his right foot and fly wide.
Malanda and his teammates sunk to the ground, and Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking told WAZ: "He's one of the youngest players in our squad, and it's a shame for him.
"He was there in the right moment, and if we had scored for 2-2 we might have taken something back home."
Malanda told kicker: "I can only learn from it. I'll hold my head high. I need to stay focused," while WAZ quoted him as saying: "I am sorry for the team. The ball was going too fast -- I was not able to react."
His agent Didier Frenay, in quotes reported by German tabloid Bild, said: "I once told him that I'll buy him a Ferrari should he become the league's top goal-scorer. On Friday, I texted him to say that this is not the way to get the car."