Colder Than the Stadium Sausage – Bayer 04 Win with Half the Effort

Well, who would’ve thought? Three wins in a row, a confident 3:1 away at Frankfurt, and all that with a performance that, at times, felt more like cruise control than high-speed football. But hey, when you’ve basically done your homework in the first 45 minutes, who are we to complain? At least not too much. Because what Bayer 04 showed in that opening half was exactly what we, as long-suffering fans, dream of: control, calmness, and cold-blooded efficiency. Two chances, two goals. A performance as sharp as the edge of a Bratwurst bun.

Arthur, usually more of a tactical workhorse than a goal threat, finally bagged his first Bundesliga goal. After 36 appearances, he found the back of the net – and maybe, just maybe, found himself a little more in this team. Let’s hope that wasn’t just a one-off highlight but the start of something more. Tillman followed up with his third goal in two matches – seriously, what did they feed him over the winter break? Whatever it was, pass it around.

Frankfurt, for their part, looked completely overwhelmed before the break, only to come roaring back like a typical home side in the second half. And Bayer? Well, we slipped into our familiar comfort zone: instead of killing the game off, we flirted with letting it slip. Same old Bayer, just with a better haircut.

Luckily for us, Frankfurt went down to ten men – thank you, Skhiri – and that took the edge off. But it still took until the 93rd minute for Garcia to finish things off, and that tells you everything about our second half: hesitant, wasteful, and a little too relaxed for comfort.

So yes, three points, a strong first half, and even the coach admitted the second 45 was... let’s say "suboptimal." But maybe that’s the good news: if the players themselves are already this self-critical, maybe we’re not just winning games – maybe we’re finally growing up as a team.

In short: this match was like a stadium sausage in winter – crispy on the outside, a bit too soft in the middle, but still exactly what you want when the scoreboard’s in your favor. And with three more points, it all tastes better anyway.