Wolfsburg dedicated their 4-1 triumph over Bayern Munich on Friday night to their former midfielder Junior Malanda, who died earlier this month in a car accident at the age of 20. The second-placed side in the Bundesliga reduced the arrears on Bayern to eight points with a stunning display at the VW-Arena after an emotional minute of applause was followed by an impromptu minute of silence in memory of the Belgian. "He was clearly looking down on us," said Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking to ARD television. "Of course we were all deeply affected by Junior Malanda's death. We said we wanted to remember him for how he was -- always happy. "That is how we played. If you want to beat Bayern, then you need a day like this." Kevin De Bruyne ripped off his black armband and raised it into the night sky after scoring the first of his two goals. The Belgian seemed on the verge of tears during the prematch tribute to his former teammate and compatriot, and he like the rest of his team channelled that emotion into one of their best performances of the season. "There's no other adjective than world class to describe Kevin De Bruyne," said Wolfsburg's director of sport Klaus Allofs. "Not only the goals he scored, but the way he worked back. This victory should prove to the players that they have the potential. "But we shouldn't draw any wrong conclusions out of it. Instead we must carry on working hard." The last time Bayern conceded four goals was when they went down 5-1 to Wolfsburg in 2009. That year, Wolfsburg overturned an 11-point deficit on the league leaders at the midway stage of the season to win their one and only Bundesliga title, although nobody is getting carried away after their latest triumph. "Nobody denies wanting to win the league, not even in Wolfsburg, but the chance of us doing it is still very low," said Hecking. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola congratulated Wolfsburg after they became the first team to beat his Bayern side in the Bundesliga this season. "They were better at the right moment, scored the goal early in the first half and then in the last minute of the half," Guardiola told ARD television. "We talked at half-time and said we had to get deeper but we just couldn't control their counter-attacks. "Congratulations to Wolfsburg, they did a great job." Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who conceded four goals for only the second time in a Bayern shirt after last season's Champions League defeat to Real Madrid, said the loss was "no catastrophe." "We know that we've still got a lot to do, though," he added on his club's website. "We've got to put this behind us and look forwards. "It's good that we've got a midweek game because it wouldn't have been nice to have to wait eight days for our next game. We've got to turn things around now." Bayern host Schalke in midweek before heading to Stuttgart next weekend.
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