In-form Dost driving Wolfsburg's dreams

Although his journey to the game against Bayer 04 Leverkusen was anything but comfortable, VfL Wolfsburg's Dutch striker Bas Dost still managed to set the Bundesliga alight the following day. With four goals in a remarkable 5-4 win against the Werkself, the 25-year-old became the first player to post that tally in a German top-flight match this season.

Wolfsburg were supposed to have a special carriage reserved for their train journey to North Rhine-Westphalia, a trip of almost 400km, but when they arrived at the station on Friday there was no sign of it. That meant a new experience for Dost: "I had to sit in the aisle because there weren't any more reserved seats available. That's never happened to me before."

That dose of bad luck did nothing to affect the forward's enthusiasm, however. In what turned out to be the craziest Bundesliga game of recent years, the Wolves held a 3-0 lead over Bayer, before being pegged back to 4-4. Step up Dost in the last minute of added time to decide the match with his fourth goal of the day and bring an end to Wolfsburg's 17-game winless run in Leverkusen.

"I had to pinch myself at first to make sure it had really happened," said the striker. "I don't think it's quite sunk in yet." Now enjoying his third season in the Bundesliga, the Dutchman has been at his best recently, having also scored twice in the first game after the winter break – a sensational 4-1 success against league leaders FC Bayern München.

With eight of his nine league efforts this season coming in his last five matches, Dost looks to have recaptured the form he showed at sc Heerenveen in the 2011/12 Eredivisie campaign, which he ended as top scorer on 32 strikes. That form earned him a move to Wolfsburg, and he managed eight goals in 28 outings during his first campaign before an ankle injury ruined his second season in green.

Bast Dost has nine Bundesliga goals this term©Getty Images

That blow also left his place in the Wolfsburg pecking order in doubt at the start of the current season. "Maybe it's time a new striker came in," said Dost amid the growing uncertainty at the time. Instead it was fellow forward Ivica Olić who left for Hamburger SV in the winter break and suddenly things are looking up for Dost, with the striker himself acknowledging: "The club are relying on me."

"Bas was injured for almost seven months. We put a huge amount of faith in him and he is repaying that," explained coach Dieter Hecking. Dost will be eager to continue repaying that trust as his side continue their remarkable campaign, with Wolfsburg now eight points clear in second and targeting a UEFA Champions League berth.

More immediately, the Wolves face a UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie against Sporting Clube de Portugal on Thursday, when Dost will aim to register his first ever goal in the competition. At the very least, he can expect a little more comfort in the run-up than he was treated to against Leverkusen – the first leg will be held in Wolfsburg.