Wolfsburg sporting director Klaus Allofs hailed the partnership between former Chelsea duo Andre Schurrle and Kevin De Bruyne after Saturday's 3-0 win over Hoffenheim, saying: "That's just what happens when you put two good players like them in one team."

Schurrle, 24, left Stamford Bridge on the final day of the winter window and was highly impressive in his first appearance since returning to the Bundesliga, providing an assist for Bas Dost's opener and then hitting the crossbar as De Bruyne scored on the rebound.

The Germany international was named man of the match by kicker magazine and Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking said after the game: "There could not have been a better debut for him."

Schurrle added in Bild: "It was just a great start for me. The team made it really easy for me. I watched a lot of Bundesliga football in London -- more than the Premier League."

There was also cause for optimism for Wolfsburg as Schurrle linked up effectively with his former Chelsea colleague De Bruyne, who also scored the third goal on Saturday to take his tally to eight for the season.

Schurrle, who had last played alongside the Belgium international during a 1-0 Champions League win over Steaua Bucharest in December 2013, said: "I have a great understanding with Kevin. You could already see that in training. He likes to use spaces on the left, and I like to go through the centre. We complement each other really well."

Allofs said the connection with De Bruyne, who left Chelsea a year ago, was to be expected given their quality.

"That's just what happens when you put two good players like them in one team," he said in Bild. "It works out most of the time."

He praised Schurrle as a "great player and fantastic lad" and, hinting at the team spirit at the Volkswagen Arena, added: "It's easy to become a part of our team."

Wolfsburg remain second in the table, eight points behind Bayern Munich and seven ahead of third-place Schalke with 14 games remaining.

Schurrle's former club Bayer Leverkusen, two points behind Schalke in sixth, host Wolfsburg at the Bay-Arena on Saturday.