The first question asked of Steffen Baumgart in his press conference on Thursday, ahead of this gripping, battling encounter, began, “As a fan…”.

Well, there’s no denying it. You can see it in the way he paces the technical area, his hands on his thighs when he drops his head to see the action at pitch level. As you could see it in the smile on his face, his tongue poking slightly out with ten minutes to go of his Union’s superb goalless draw against the now former champions.

If he answered reluctantly then, he still showed his implicit understanding of what makes this club tick. As a fan.

“You never take it for granted that we will win a game,” he said. “But you always assume that we will do everything we can to win,” and this shone through on Saturday afternoon. Baumgart has begun to imbue his side with this - with his - spirit, and as his side had shown their fighting qualities over the last month, here they were to do so again.

The lightning start came not from Union, however, but as expected from their hosts, with their last hopes of challenging for the title not absolutely, but largely depending on this game. 

Josip Juranović allowed Jeremie Frimpong the chance to charge in on Frederik Rönnow’s goal. Fortunately, he too didn’t yet have his radar aligned – few did in an opening phase, littered with misplaced passes from both sides - and he blazed wide. Juranović tried to make up for his error almost straight away, hitting a free kick to the back post after Schäfer had been battered to the ground.

Patrick Schick would have the next half-chance as Leverkusen began to establish their dominance of the ball, but Piero Hincapie’s deep, out-swinging cross was too high for the target man; another from the same spot had to be headed back and away by Janik Haberer just two minutes later. Edmond Tapsoba hit his own shot into the second tier after ten minutes, leaning back as he hit it, the ball sailing away into the distance.

Captain, Christopher Trimmel meanwhile showed all of his wiles, gained over 354 and some games for Union, when he turned Alejandro Grimaldo with the minimum of fuss inside his own box, defusing the threat posed without breaking sweat.

If Union had started quietly, they suddenly thought they had the lead. At the other end Ilic got his first touches, winning the corner that saw him putting the ball in the net directly after Querfeld had seen his towering header palmed the Serbian striker’s way by Lukas Hrádecký. Though his instinctive finish was precise, Ilic had been standing an inch offside at the most when the ball came to him and the assistant’s flag went straight up. 

Union were now far more in the game, pushing their lauded hosts backwards, giving the champions little time to think, and it took an excellent header from Tah to clear Rani Khedira’s diagonal cross in from the right, just inside the Leverkusen half.

Grimaldo continued to pose a danger from the left, and with 25 minutes played, he again almost found Schick, as the Leverkusen striker dropped off towards the back post. But, as when he came to take a free kick from the opposite flank shortly afterwards, Union’s back line held firm, Querfeld rising to head clear. Juranović robbed Frimpong on the follow-up on the ground.

Danilho Dekhi and Diogo Leite, were as ever, excellent but Querfeld, particularly, stood out, looking like he had been a part of this defence as long as his captain, radiating confidence, controlling everything and everyone around him like an admiral with a good view of his fleet.

Schick bent a shot with his left past the back post with fine technique, but Rönnow probably had it covered as he got across his goal smartly, his senses twitching.

Rönnow was soon on the floor, after winning a 50-50 with Nathan Tella that left them both having crumpled to the floor. The stray ball was lobbed over as a moment of fear broke out, the goal suddenly empty. But while Union’s keeper would recover, Tella was lead unsteadily off a few minutes later. Meanwhile the stadium was hushed, reacting to a medical emergency in one of the home stands, the protocol of the ultras trumping their usual urge to roar their side on. They’d get their chance as the all clear was given after the break; after that they wouldn’t let up

Though they remained a man down, the final chance would drop to Leverkusen, but in keeping with much that had preceded it from his side, Grimaldo fired his volley uncertainly wide. Having kept them at arm’s length, Baumgart could be more than happy at the break.

Baumgart made no changes immediately, enjoying the status quo, happy to see the frustration growing in the eyes of the Leverkusen fans, watching the title drifting away, and his own sides’ fears of relegation going the same way. They disippated oon the cool breeze, lost in the blue skies over the Rhine.

But their parity still had a great deal to do with Querfeld, who made the next of many important interventions five minutes into the second half, this time sticking out a leg as Grimaldo tried to slip Schick away through the middle.

Aleix Garcia took a pot shot from 25 yards as the smoke from the Union end drifted across the pitch, adding a dreamlike hue to the occasion, but Rönnow was too well set for it to cause him any danger, and he took it shoulder height. It was Garcia’s last chance, as he was replaced by the starlet, Florian Wirtz, to a standing ovation, before the hour was out.

Wirtz immediately showed his value, finding Palacios with a lovely little ball that drew a fine stop from Rönnow this time, palming the ball away, it having come to him at stinging pace.

Then, with an hour played and Leverkusen again starting to dominate, Baumgart threw his cards on the table, bringing off Skarke and Ilić, replacing them with Lucas Tousart and Hollerbach. But if all eyes were on the latter, it was the Frenchman, Tousart, who suddenly sprung into life, sensing Hradecky off his line. He would then ping another shot, this time from the edge of the box, into the arms of Leverkusen’s keeper.

Khedira was next up, bringing the ball 25 yards, under pressure all the while, but refusing to wilt underneath it. Union were sticking to their plan. They were resolute, and when Hollerbach found himself in front of Hladecky with just under 20 minutes to play, it seemed to have borne fruit; he just couldn’t get his attempted lob up and over the keeper.

Baumgart walked back into position, the tip of his tongue sticking out, a smile almost playing across his face, as he brought Trimmel and Haberer off, replacing them with Jérôme Roussillon and David Preu. He had more than one reason to be happy. The 20-year-old was making his Bundesliga debut.

"It was just a great day,” said the delighted defender, having come through the ranks at Union. “I can't really remember what I was thinking before I came on, but I just wanted to be on the pitch. Then to play against players like those at Leverkusen is something very special. The fact that we then put in such a performance as a team and earned a point here makes it all the more so.”

Though Preu was getting a baptism of fire, and he got a booking for his ungainly challenge on Wirtz only a few minutes later, he was more than equal to the challenges thrown his way.

He was soon joined by another youngster, as Tom Rothe came on for the injured Juranović, but it was now all hands on deck for Union as Leverkusen’s attacks took on a hint of desperation. Rönnow punched a deep corner away in one moment, flung himself the other way to tip Hincapie’s shot wide the next. Danilho Doekhi, who had been going superbly about his business all day, his fifth yellow card still waiting as it has been for weeks now, tackled Jonas Hofmann with typical unfussiness.

With 90 minutes played up, and five to go shown on the board, Victor Boniface attacked Roussillon down the left, but though he hit the byline, again Querfeld was there to clear the danger. Leverkusen have made a trademark of their late goals, but Union weren’t of a mind to give them a sniff now, and Wirtz was fuming when he got a yellow card alongside of Hofmann, when he tangled with Roussillon as Frimpong broke along the right-hand side with time almost out.

Rönnow was needed one more time, and he sprung in front of Schick to rob the ball at the very last as he suddenly seemed to have Wirtz’s pass laid on a plate for him, but by this point their destiny was clear.

Baumgart smiled again. “They are currently 100% ready to give their all and leave it all out on the pitch,” he said, after the final whistle. “Of course, recent results also give you a lot of energy and the odd bit of luck that you need in some situations. Today, however, we allowed almost nothing against a very high-quality attack and at the same time created a few good chances ourselves. I am therefore highly satisfied and the team can be too.”

"It was just a great day. I can't really remember the moments before I came on, but I just wanted to be on the pitch. And then to play against such players from Leverkusen is something very special. The fact that we then put in such a performance as a team and earn a point here makes it all the more special." 

"It feels a bit like a victory, even if we only got a point. We were focused throughout and defended very well. This is mainly because we are fighting for each other and for the team again." 

"The boys want to implement what we give them. Right now they are 100% ready to give everything and leave nothing to chance. Of course, the last few results also give you a lot of energy and a bit of luck, which you need in some situations. But today we didn't concede anything against a very high-quality attack and at the same time created a few good chances ourselves. I'm therefore highly satisfied and the team can be too."