0–1 Against Marseille: Plenty of Ball, Precious Little Bayer

Fifty-eight per cent possession. Personally, I would have preferred a team that knew what to do with it. This 1–0 defeat against Marseille was one of those evenings when, as a Bayer fan, you eventually look at the clock and wonder when the neat passing is going to turn into an actual football match. Of course, Miguel Gutiérrez’s deflected effort could have dropped under the bar. And yes, there were late chances from headers. But I have no intention of dressing up a home defeat by telling myself we might have won with a little luck. The performance was too cautious, too slow and nowhere near threatening enough.

What bothers me more than our first Europa League defeat is the pattern taking shape. Three defeats in four competitive matches, with a 5–2 win against Nürnberg squeezed in between — a game in which we apparently needed to concede twice before waking up. This is becoming more than the occasional bad evening. Against Marseille, we were more solid for long stretches than in our recent Bundesliga matches. Going forward, though, we offered precious little that might genuinely trouble them. Schick was largely isolated, while Maza rarely found a way through the French defence. We had the ball, and Marseille seemed perfectly comfortable with that arrangement. That combination drives me mad: always capable of a costly mistake at the back, yet playing up front as though there is no particular deadline for scoring.

Aleix Garcia provided the moment that will stick in the memory. Losing possession happens. Failing to chase back with everything you have is much harder to accept. Robert Andrich was absolutely right to call it out. Still, dumping all our frustration on Garcia would be rather convenient. He has started all 14 competitive matches this season. If we apparently cannot build an attack without him but repeatedly struggle to protect our defence with him, Carles Martínez needs to find an answer. A lovely passing range has yet to stop a counterattack on its own. If Garcia is given that central role, the spaces around him need proper protection.

Which brings me to the manager. I do not expect instant perfection after a rebuild. I do expect recurring weaknesses to become less frequent. Opponents find space in front of our defence too often, and too often one lost ball is enough to put us in trouble. Fatigue after these demanding weeks is understandable. It does not explain every positional mistake, though, or make a failure to track back an unavoidable consequence of the fixture list. Martínez needs to decide which combination of players and responsibilities actually gives this team some stability. Hoping for Garcia’s next pinpoint diagonal is no longer enough for me.

Montrell Culbreath’s return was at least something to smile about, and nine points from four Europa League matches remains a decent position. Neither leaves me feeling particularly relaxed about the trip to Cologne. Nobody there will stand around admiring our possession figures. I want to see a team that accepts the physical battle, reacts immediately after mistakes and makes life uncomfortable for the opposition. A derby win would certainly improve my international break. It would still leave Martínez with plenty to fix.