4–0 Against Union – That Is Exactly What a Response Should Look Like

After Elversberg, there was really only one thing I wanted to see: a reaction. No tactical masterclass for the cameras, no fireworks for the sake of it, no philosophical discussion about possession. Just a Bayer 04 side that showed from the first whistle that it understood how embarrassing that Bundesliga opener had been. And that is exactly what we got against Union Berlin. A 4–0 win in the first home game of the season, four different goalscorers and, above all, a performance that looked almost completely unrelated to the miserable 3–2 defeat in Elversberg. Before kick-off, Carles Martínez had demanded mentality rather than a reliance on talent. Ninety minutes later, it was fair to say: message received.

The difference was obvious within seconds. Ezequiel Fernández scored virtually straight from kick-off after good work from Miguel Gutiérrez, his first goal in a Bayer shirt. That is exactly how I want to see a team start when it has something to put right: awake, aggressive and without spending the opening quarter of an hour politely checking whether the match has actually begun. Ibrahim Maza had an early opportunity to make it two, Patrik Schick tested Frederik Rönnow with a header, and although the game became a little quieter for a while, I never had the feeling that Bayer were losing control. After Elversberg, that alone felt almost therapeutic. Martínez had also reacted with his team selection. Jarell Quansah and Facundo Medina came into the starting eleven, while Lucas Vázquez and Loïc Badé dropped to the bench. Both changes paid off. Quansah added stability on the right and contributed intelligently going forward, while Medina was excellent on his first Bayer start and powered home Gutiérrez’s cross for 2–0. A defender scoring on his first start while barely putting a foot wrong at the other end is what I would call a fairly successful afternoon.

Gutiérrez was probably the player whose transformation pleased me most. A week earlier in Elversberg, very little had worked for him. Against Union he looked like a different footballer: constant movement, intelligent runs, dangerous crosses and real energy down the left. He kept the ball alive for the opening goal and supplied the assist for Medina’s header. It was a useful reminder of why definitive judgements after one bad match are usually a terrible idea. Footballers are not stock prices, although as supporters we occasionally behave as though we need to redraw the trend line after every Saturday afternoon. Fernández also looked composed after his goal, Tapsoba was far more secure than in Elversberg, and suddenly the defensive unit looked like a functioning Bundesliga defence rather than a group of people who had met in the car park ten minutes before kick-off.

Bayer made sure there would be no unnecessary drama after the break. Just three minutes into the second half, Quansah found Schick and the Czech striker did what he has been doing with reassuring regularity: he scored. For the fourth, Schick showed that he is currently offering much more than goals, producing a lovely backheel into the path of Maza, who finally rewarded himself for another lively display. Maza still occasionally wants one touch too many, but I would rather see a young attacking player take risks than watch every promising move end with the safest possible sideways pass. Schick, meanwhile, looks wonderfully clear about his role. Score goals, link play, cause problems. There are more complicated tactical descriptions available, but I am quite happy with that one.

And then there was Moussa Diaby. His return had dominated the build-up to the home opener, and although he began on the bench, the reception when he came on in the second half was exactly what you would expect. There are moments when my Bayer fan bias works perfectly well, thank you very much, and seeing Diaby back in our shirt was one of them. He immediately offered a few promising attacking moments, even setting up Maza unselfishly late on, and the chants for him after the final whistle showed just how much affection remains. Nostalgia alone will not win football matches, of course. Past memories are lovely; goals and assists in the present are even better. But as a first chapter of his return, this felt pretty good.

There is no need to turn one 4–0 win into proof that everything has suddenly been fixed. Union were remarkably harmless and Mark Flekken had one of the quieter afternoons a Bundesliga goalkeeper will enjoy. Not every Bayer player was outstanding either. Aleix Garcia had some avoidable errors, while Moreira and Tillman were relatively quiet going forward. But the overall picture matters. Bayer were switched on, physically competitive, defensively far more stable and ruthless enough in the decisive moments. Those were precisely the qualities missing in Elversberg.

That, for me, is the most important thing about this result. Anyone can explain away a poor performance. The real question is how a team responds to it. Bayer answered emphatically.

Elversberg was embarrassing. Union was convincing.

And if losing a match is going to be followed by a 4–0 win every time, I might just be able to get used to this particular recovery plan.