Semi-final, half the hope, all of Flekken

There are nights against Bayern when, after ten minutes, you get the feeling your goalkeeper should be entitled to danger money. This was one of them. The fact that Bayer 04 had not already been blown out of this cup semi-final by half-time was mainly down to Mark Flekken, who at times looked like the last sensible person in a house slowly catching fire.

In the end, the 0-2 sounds clearer than it actually felt. And that is the most annoying part. Not because we were the better team over 90 minutes — you would need a very strong fan bias and probably a couple of Kölsch to argue that. But because after that first half there looked to be more broken than what we later saw on the pitch. Bayer fought their way back into the game, refused to simply let Bayern stroll through, and showed that this team still has pride, structure and resistance in it. Unfortunately, it also showed that strange habit of only truly embracing big matches once we are already behind.

That was the real issue of the night. Not going out against Bayern — that can happen. It was the way we started: cautious, almost reverential. As if we first had to politely ask whether we were allowed to play football in our own stadium. In the second half there was suddenly pace, aggression, bravery and pressure. In other words, exactly what you need against this Bayern side if you want to hurt them. And immediately the game looked different. It was a reminder that even these Bayern are not untouchable once you make them work instead of admire them.

Still, alongside the frustration there is also something in this performance that should not be dismissed in Leverkusen: this team does not collapse. After difficult weeks, it produced a response that says more about its character than the cold result does. The fact that our historic scoring run in the cup ended on a night like this only adds to the drama. Very Bayer 04, very irritating.

Now there is no use wallowing in a cup hangover. Cologne and Leipzig are coming, and in the league everything is still at stake. Maybe the one useful lesson from this night is an obvious one: less respect, more chaos. Flekken, above all people, has earned that.