2–0 Against Leipzig – Exactly the Stability We Have Been Missing

Some wins feel bigger than the scoreline. The 2–0 against RB Leipzig was one of those for me. Not because Bayer 04 played them off the park for 90 minutes – far from it. The first half in particular was hard work. But after the defensive wobbles of recent weeks, there was something much more important to see this time: organisation, discipline and the ability to win a match even when everything is not flowing perfectly.

The afternoon also began on a sad note. Bayer played in mourning bands in memory of Peter Hermann and the BayArena paid tribute to a man who shaped football in Leverkusen for decades. Once the game started, the Werkself were focused, even if Leipzig initially looked the more dangerous side. Mark Flekken had to deal with an early effort from Banzuzi, and for a long time it was a tactical, fairly cautious contest. Bayer had spells of control but too often lacked precision in the final third. Miguel Gutiérrez just missed a Quansah cross, Aleix Garcia fired over and Schick and Diaby failed to convert a double chance. I had more or less settled for 0–0 at half-time.

Then came Schick. Of course. Gutiérrez delivered a perfect cross and Schick met it first time just before the break. A superb finish, but also a goal at exactly the right moment. When a first half has been difficult and not much has worked cleanly, scoring seconds before the whistle is worth a great deal. Schick currently has that lovely striker’s simplicity again: no unnecessary touch, no second thoughts. Ball arrives, ball goes in.

Bayer were much better after the break. Maza, Diaby and Moreira brought more pace to the attacking play, the combinations became smoother and Leipzig gradually lost their grip on the match. The visitors certainly helped with the second goal, but Gutiérrez still had to punish the mistake – and he did, firing home his first competitive goal for Bayer. After also creating the opener, he was comfortably my man of the match.

More important than either goal, though, was what happened at the other end. That is where I have had my biggest concerns recently. Against Elversberg, Bayer were far too open. In Augsburg, a few minutes of defensive chaos nearly threw away a game that had been under control. Against Leipzig, things looked much more mature. Tapsoba and Medina won important duels, Quansah stayed disciplined and Gutiérrez worked just as hard defensively as he did going forward. Leipzig still had moments, but there was none of that sequence of huge spaces, missed assignments and avoidable panic that had been driving me mad.

It was not perfect. Bayer struggled badly in the duels before the break, and Leipzig even had the ball in the net before VAR ruled the goal out for offside. So there is no point pretending the first half was some sort of masterpiece. It was not. But that is exactly why I liked the performance. Bayer survived a difficult spell, did not lose their heads and improved as the game went on. That is what a stable side does. It does not always dominate; sometimes it simply refuses to fall apart.

Schick could even have added a third later on, but by then the result never really felt in danger. No frantic retreat, no needless drama, no late defensive gift. After the last few weeks, it is difficult to overstate how enjoyable that kind of boring can be.

There are signs now of what Carles Martínez wants this side to become. The home performances are looking increasingly convincing, and the Europa League campaign has started with a win as well. There is still plenty to improve, and the away displays remain a useful warning against getting carried away. But against Leipzig, Bayer finally showed exactly what I had been asking for: fewer defensive presents, more concentration and the ability to control a game without needing to produce attacking fireworks every five minutes.

Now comes the long international break, with Mainz waiting afterwards.

If we defend there with the same discipline we showed against Leipzig, I would be perfectly happy for another Bayer match to finish in pleasantly uneventful fashion.

2–0 Against Celje – Three Points, but No Reason for European Euphoria Yet

European nights at the BayArena can give me two things as far as I am concerned: a win and as little unnecessary stress as possible. Against NK Celje, Bayer 04 delivered both often enough. Three points are on the board, which is exactly what should have been expected against the Slovenian champions. In terms of performance, though, there was still plenty of room for improvement – and both Carles Martínez and Robert Andrich said as much afterwards. 

Martínez rotated heavily and made six changes from the draw in Augsburg. Martin Terrier started for the first time since March, Robert Andrich made his first start of the season, and Patrik Schick, Malik Tillman and Lucas Vázquez were among those brought back into the starting eleven. Bayer needed a few minutes to settle, but then increasingly took control. Terrier hit the post, Edmond Tapsoba forced the goalkeeper into a save, and eventually Aleix Garcia’s cross was deflected into the net by Svit Seslar. Not exactly one for the goal-of-the-season compilation, but in Europe I rarely ask too many questions about artistic merit. 

Garcia was the standout player for me. He dictated the tempo, kept appearing in dangerous areas and was directly involved in seven of Bayer’s twelve first-half attempts. That kind of presence is exactly what the team needs in midfield. Even so, Bayer should have made more of their superiority. Schick headed wide and Terrier missed when well placed. Against stronger opposition, those are the chances you cannot afford to keep wasting. 

There was also a warning sign at the other end. Despite Bayer’s control, Celje still created several very good chances, and Mark Flekken had to make a number of important saves in the first half. When your goalkeeper is one of the more noticeable players against opposition of this level, I do not find that especially reassuring. Defensive organisation had already bothered me in Augsburg, and there were moments here when the same issue appeared again. Celje did not punish the spaces they were given, but better teams will. Andrich himself pointed out afterwards that Bayer had allowed the visitors too much room. 

The second half became increasingly flat. Bayer still controlled possession, but for a long time there was not enough real threat. The introductions of Afonso Moreira and Christian Kofane finally brought more movement. Moreira hit the bar, and from the resulting corner Facundo Medina added the second. Medina is quietly developing into a rather unlikely BayArena goalscorer: two home appearances, two goals. For a defender, I will happily take that. 

There were other positives too. Terrier was back in the starting line-up and Eliesse Ben Seghir returned after injury. But my overall impression remains similar to the opening Bundesliga matches: this Bayer side has plenty of quality, but it is still too inconsistent. The good spells are becoming more frequent. What is still missing is the ability to sustain them for the full 90 minutes – more clinical finishing at one end and fewer unnecessary spaces at the other.

Three points, a clean sheet, job done.

That is not enough for European euphoria just yet.

But it was certainly enough for a successful night at the BayArena.

2–2 in Augsburg – 80 Good Minutes, Ten Minutes Asleep

There are matches after which you are not quite sure whether you have gained a point or thrown two away. The 2–2 draw at Augsburg belongs exactly in that category. Bayer 04 were the better side for long spells, deservedly took the lead, finished with 30 shots and 63 per cent possession – and still needed Patrik Schick in the 89th minute just to rescue something. Standard Bayer madness, really: do plenty right, then nearly ruin the entire afternoon with ten minutes of collective sleepwalking.

Carles Martínez made two changes from the 4–0 win over Union. Moussa Diaby started for the first time since his return, while Christian Kofane was preferred to Schick up front. That decision paid off. After a long ball from Edmond Tapsoba, Kofane controlled it brilliantly, beat his man and finished for 1–0. It was not just a lovely goal, but also a reminder that Bayer have more than one reliable option through the middle.

I liked the first half. Tapsoba and Facundo Medina largely kept Augsburg away from goal, Ibrahim Maza was a threat and Diaby added pace. The 1–0 lead was deserved and probably too narrow. That is why what happened after the break was so difficult to accept. Suddenly, almost all of the defensive order disappeared. For the equaliser, Augsburg came through far too easily before Gregoritsch finished through Flekken’s legs. Five minutes later, the same player was completely unmarked at the far post from a corner and headed in for 2–1. For me, that is more than just a brief lapse in concentration. In that sequence, it was simply poor defending.

The second goal in particular should never happen. From a corner, everyone knows the dangerous areas and who needs to be picked up. Yet Gregoritsch was standing there almost completely free. No pressure, no proper marking, apparently not enough communication either. He practically had time to recite his postcode before anyone in a Bayer shirt noticed that he was alone in the box. If we seriously want to compete near the top of the table, we cannot defend like that. It had nothing to do with bad luck. It was just not good enough.

And that is currently the sore point of this team for me. We talk a lot about the attacking quality – Schick, Kofane, Diaby, Maza and all the options going forward. But what is the point of having all that talent if the defensive structure can disappear within a few minutes? We already saw in Elversberg how quickly Bayer can lose control without the ball. Against Union, the response was excellent. In Augsburg, the same problem appeared again, even if only for a short spell. It cannot become a pattern.

At least Bayer did not collapse this time. Maza appeared to equalise, only for VAR to rule the goal out because of an earlier foul by Quansah. Martínez brought on Schick and Guéla Doué, and from then on it was almost one-way traffic. Augsburg dropped deep, Bayer crossed, shot and pushed – only to find another leg, another block or another bit of imprecision in the way. Thirty attempts sound dominant. They can also describe an awful lot of frustration.

Then came Schick. Of course he did. In the 89th minute, he redirected a mishit effort from Malik Tillman with his heel into the far corner. 2–2. Technically excellent, instinctive and exactly the sort of finish that makes him so valuable. Schick does not always need the perfect move. Sometimes half a second in the box is enough.

Overall, Bayer played a decent away game against the league leaders and deserved the point. Kofane scored, Schick scored, Diaby added pace and Doué got his first minutes. But I do not want those positives to hide the main problem. The attack is currently capable of repairing a lot of defensive mistakes. That is not a sustainable plan.

Four points from three matches are no disaster. But they also show that this Werkself are still a long way from being truly stable at the back. If we want to challenge near the top, it is not enough to score attractive goals. We also have to stop turning controlled matches into rescue missions because of two badly defended situations.

Maybe the lesson from Augsburg is actually very simple: Up front, we have enough quality to rescue almost any game. At the back, we really need to stop making them do it.

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.

2–3 in Elversberg – A Bundesliga Start That Could Hardly Have Gone Worse

You can start a new Bundesliga season away to a promoted side and expect certain things: an excited home crowd, a tight stadium, opponents flying into every challenge as if the entire history of the club depends on it. All of that is normal. What Bayer 04 probably should not do is find themselves 2–0 down after ten minutes while looking as though nobody had mentioned that the league season had actually started. That is exactly what happened in Elversberg. We eventually lost 3–2, despite late goals from Patrik Schick and Christian Kofane giving us a brief flicker of hope. And while I normally try not to turn every defeat into the beginning of the apocalypse, this opening-day performance worries me far more than any lost pre-season friendly. 

Carles Martínez made only one change from the comfortable 4–0 cup win in Wiesbaden, with Mark Flekken replacing Janis Blaswich in goal. So, on paper at least, there was continuity. On the pitch, there was very little of it. Elversberg started with aggression, speed and exactly the kind of intensity I had expected from Bayer. Lukas Petkov made it 1–0 after eight minutes and just two minutes later Cole Campbell added a second, helped considerably by a dreadful misplaced pass from new captain Edmond Tapsoba. After a quarter of an hour, it could easily have been 3–0. Flekken and his team-mates prevented things from getting even worse. When the best thing you can say after 15 minutes is that you are only two goals behind, something has gone very badly wrong. 

What bothered me most was not simply the scoreline, but the manner of it. Elversberg were sharper, braver and quicker in almost every action. Bayer needed what felt like 20 minutes just to understand what sort of match they were playing. Of course a promoted side is allowed to start with energy. Of course you can concede an early goal. But when the supposed favourite barely features in the opening exchanges while the Bundesliga newcomers create chance after chance, it is no longer just a slow start. It is a proper warning sign. Bayer eventually improved. Loïc Badé headed narrowly wide and Aleix Garcia hit the crossbar with a deflected free-kick. But at half-time we were still 2–0 down, and in truth even that scoreline felt rather generous.

Anyone hoping Martínez would wake the team up during the interval had exactly 25 seconds to enjoy that thought. Then it was 3–0. David Mokwa got in front of Badé and finished from close range, and at that point even the most optimistic Bayer supporter probably had to check whether this really was matchday one or some particularly unpleasant dream. Martínez had surprisingly sent the same team back out after the break and only reacted with a triple substitution after the third goal. Even then, the changes had little immediate impact. Bayer saw more of the ball, but against a compact Elversberg defence there was not enough invention, precision or urgency to create serious danger. 

Then, finally, something changed. Schick produced a technically excellent finish in the 77th minute to make it 3–1. Suddenly Bayer played with more speed and conviction. In stoppage time, Kofane added a second after Boniface had hit the bar, and one minute later Jonas Hofmann nearly equalised, only to be denied by goalkeeper Nicolas Kristof. The fact that Bayer came so close to rescuing a point from 3–0 down at least shows that the team did not completely give up. But I am not going to turn that into some heroic comeback story. If you only begin playing proper Bundesliga football in the final quarter of an hour, then you have already made far too many mistakes. The late rally was encouraging, but it cannot be allowed to hide the first 75 minutes. 

That is why I do not want to brush this defeat aside with the usual line about there being 34 matchdays in a season. Of course there are. One 3–2 defeat in Elversberg will not decide the next nine months. But opening day still tells you something, and right now Bayer lack stability, composure and, above all, defensive reliability. We had already seen in pre-season that this team can dominate possession without creating enough danger. In Elversberg, we added another problem: for long periods we had no control at all without the ball. That is an uncomfortable combination. If you need time to become dangerous in attack, you cannot simultaneously hand out presents at the back.

Martínez therefore faces his first proper test much earlier than he would have liked. Union Berlin are next in the first home game of the season. I do not need some tactical revolution. I would settle for something much simpler: a Bayer side that is switched on from the first whistle, competes in every challenge, treats the opponent seriously and does not wait until three goals have gone in before remembering that Bundesliga points are actually being awarded. 

I am not going to write off the season after one defeat. I have supported Bayer far too long for that, and probably suffered enough along the way as well. But I am not going to dress this up either. A promoted side is allowed to beat us. What should not happen is that they outplay us for an hour and make it look as though they are the experienced Bundesliga team while we are the nervous newcomers.

The season is only 90 minutes old. Good.

Because after those 90 minutes, there is already plenty to fix.

4–0 in Wiesbaden – First a Test of Patience, Then Pretty Comfortable After All

Cup football, first round, away to a third-tier side – I have been following Bayer 04 for long enough to know that this is usually the wrong moment to start discussing how many goals we might score. This competition has its own sense of humour. In the end, though, Bayer won 4–0 at Wehen Wiesbaden, Carles Martínez celebrated victory in his first competitive match as head coach, and we moved comfortably into the second round. On paper, that sounds like a very relaxed Saturday afternoon. In reality, the first half was rather less comfortable. Bayer had plenty of the ball but struggled for long periods to break down a compact Wiesbaden defence. Lots of possession, not enough penetration – a pattern we have already seen a few times during pre-season. The final numbers were dominant: 71 per cent possession, 19 shots and an xG figure of 1.93. But even those statistics do not tell the full story of how awkward the opening 45 minutes felt. 

Martínez stuck with the back four he had used regularly during pre-season. Janis Blaswich started in goal, with new captain Edmond Tapsoba in defence. Ezequiel Fernández and Aleix Garcia formed the midfield base, Malik Tillman played centrally ahead of them, Ibrahim Maza started on the right, while Miguel Gutiérrez and Afonso Moreira made their competitive Bayer debuts on the left. Patrik Schick led the line. There were early signs that the left flank could become important. Gutiérrez found Schick with a precise cross after 14 minutes, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Bayer had around three quarters of the possession in the opening phase and still created surprisingly little. Wiesbaden sat deep, defended with discipline and reminded us that a third-tier team in the first round of the cup is generally not interested in laying out a red carpet for Bundesliga visitors. Bayer’s passing was not always clean enough either, and I could already feel the familiar cup arithmetic beginning in my head: 0–0 at half-time, the underdog grows in confidence, and somewhere around the 83rd minute a deflected free-kick disappears into the far corner. Fortunately, Schick had no interest in that particular script. After a Maza effort was blocked, he was exactly where a striker should be and bundled home the opener in the 43rd minute. 

After the break, the match changed very quickly from a test of patience into a fairly straightforward affair. Gutiérrez again delivered from the left, Schick’s header was saved, and Lucas Vázquez was perfectly placed to score the rebound for 2–0 in the 47th minute. From that point, the tension was largely gone. Bayer controlled the game, Wiesbaden struggled to get near our penalty area, and Martínez was able to spread the minutes around. I actually liked that almost more than some chaotic attacking show. Not every cup win has to be a masterpiece. Sometimes it is perfectly acceptable for the Bundesliga side to impose its greater quality and then make sure the opponent never really gets back into the contest. The substitutes also made an immediate impact. Nathan Tella made it 3–0 in the 69th minute after a clever backheel from Maza, and ten minutes later Christian Kofane added the fourth after Moreira powered down the left and provided a precise cut-back. Jarell Quansah and Exequiel Palacios also got their first minutes of the season, while Facundo Medina made his Bayer debut. 

So what do I take from the first competitive match of the season? First of all, the most important thing: we are through. No extra time, no penalties and, most importantly, none of that special kind of cup panic where you suddenly realise in the 83rd minute against a third-tier opponent that your pulse has reached Champions League final levels. We also had four different goalscorers, useful contributions from the bench and several new signings collecting important competitive minutes. Moreira continues to impress me because there is something very direct about his game. He wants to take defenders on, accelerate and make things happen rather than turning every attack into a research project on the perfect passing sequence. Gutiérrez also showed with his delivery what he can add on the left. And Schick? He is simply continuing where he left off in pre-season: scoring goals. I would be perfectly happy if that habit lasts for a few more months.

Still, the 4–0 scoreline should not disguise everything. Before half-time, Bayer once again had problems turning possession into enough clear chances. That was already an issue in the friendlies and it will matter even more against Bundesliga opposition. When teams defend deep, we need more speed in our combinations and more conviction in the final third. Against Wiesbaden, individual quality eventually made the difference. Against stronger opponents, we will not always be able to wait for Schick to appear in exactly the right place just before half-time.

But for the first competitive match of the season, I will take a 4–0 away win without any argument. Martínez has started with a victory, the new players have made encouraging first impressions and Bayer are safely into round two without unnecessary drama. Next comes Elversberg and the beginning of the Bundesliga season, which is when the excuses really disappear.  Until then, I am taking one reassuring lesson from Wiesbaden: if our new cup strategy is to make me slightly nervous for one half and then win comfortably, I can probably live with that.

2–1 in Newcastle – Boniface Scores, Maza Strikes and the Dress Rehearsal Offers Encouragement

When pre-season ends with six wins from seven matches, it is tempting to decide that everything is going rather well. As a long-time Bayer 04 supporter, I know exactly how dangerous thoughts like that can be. Football has a nasty habit of punishing excessive optimism at the first possible opportunity. Still, the 2–1 win at Newcastle United was a dress rehearsal I can live with far more comfortably than the rather sluggish 2–1 defeat at Nottingham a few days earlier. Not simply because of the result, but because Bayer looked composed for long spells, controlled significant phases of the match and had two goalscorers in Ibrahim Maza and Victor Boniface whose contributions were interesting for very different reasons. It took less than a minute for Bayer to make an impression. Christian Kofane and Maza combined around the edge of the box before Maza took aim from roughly 20 metres and absolutely smashed the ball under the crossbar. That is one way to start your final friendly. Newcastle barely had time to settle before finding themselves behind. For me, the goal was more than just a lovely strike in a pre-season game. Maza keeps showing glimpses of the technical quality and imagination that could become very useful for this team. There is no need to turn a young player into the next superstar after a handful of summer appearances – football tends to do that quickly enough on its own – but moments like this certainly make me curious to see more.

Newcastle gradually worked their way into the game, although the most unusual moment of the first half initially had nothing to do with football. During the first drinks break, the home side changed their shirts because their black-and-white kit was apparently too similar visually to Bayer’s blue-and-beige away strip. You do not see an entire team change outfits halfway through a half very often, even in pre-season. The new look seemed to suit Newcastle, though, because they became increasingly influential and equalised shortly before the break. Following a corner, Malick Thiaw rose highest at the far post and headed home for 1–1. That was frustrating because Bayer had made a good impression overall, but it was also another small reminder that set pieces are not merely decorative interruptions to a football match. In tight games, they can decide everything. Better to receive the reminder now than in a cup tie. After the break, I liked Bayer again. The Werkself had more possession, moved the ball well and at times pinned Newcastle around their own penalty area. The obvious qualification is that clear-cut chances were still too rare. That is the issue I had already noticed in Nottingham: parts of the football look tidy, but tidy is not the same as dangerous. Afonso Moreira was particularly lively down the left, repeatedly creating trouble through his direct running and individual actions. He brings pace, courage and a willingness to attack defenders rather than simply offer another safe passing option. That kind of player can be extremely useful when a match becomes static.

And then Victor Boniface arrived. His physical condition has been one of the major storylines of Bayer’s preparation, along with the question of whether he can rediscover the level that once made him such an important player for us. Against Newcastle, he needed less than two minutes. Starting from the left, he drove into the penalty area, beat his man with a feint and curled the ball into the far corner. 2–1. A very good goal, and probably an even more important one for Boniface himself. One strike in a friendly does not answer every question after a difficult spell, of course. But sometimes a forward needs exactly that kind of moment, when everything suddenly looks instinctive again. No hesitation, no overthinking, just a confident move and a finish. I very much hope that this goal gives him more than simply a nice line in the statistics of a summer friendly. Bayer’s options up front could look very different if Boniface begins to rediscover his confidence, and competition in attack is hardly something I am going to complain about.

Newcastle did have a good opportunity to equalise near the end, so this was certainly not a flawless performance. But Bayer deserved the win, completed pre-season with six victories and only one defeat, and produced several encouraging signs immediately before competitive football begins. Maza scored a superb goal, Moreira again caught the eye, Boniface delivered a moment that could be significant for him personally, and the team is gradually beginning to show more clearly what Carles Martínez wants it to become. Not everything is working yet. Bayer still need to turn possession into genuine chances more consistently, and defensively there are moments that develop a little too easily for my liking. But at some point pre-season has to end. Next weekend Wehen Wiesbaden await in the DFB-Pokal, and from then on nobody gets to say afterwards that it was only a friendly. That is why I like this 2–1 win in Newcastle. Not because it answered every question, but because Bayer showed immediately before the real start that there is quality, there are ideas and there are options. Now those ingredients have to produce results.

And if Boniface has decided that this is the perfect moment to start enjoying scoring goals again, I really have no objection to the timing.