It took Bayer Leverkusen precisely sixty seconds to decide the afternoon. Before Union Berlin had settled into their shape, before the BayArena crowd had finished taking their seats, Equi Fernández had swept the ball left-footed into the bottom-left corner from close range and set a demolition in motion. What followed was less a contest than a statement, a 4-0 rout that reasserted Leverkusen's ambition and left their visitors staring at the bottom of the table.

This was the sort of performance that redraws expectations. Miguel Gutiérrez, twice a provider, was the game's conductor, while Patrik Schick and Ibrahim Maza added the flourishes. Union, by contrast, never laid a glove on the hosts. From the opening exchange they were chasing a game that had already slipped beyond them, and by the final whistle the scoreline felt, if anything, generous to the beaten side.

For Leverkusen, sitting fifth with a solitary win to their name coming in, this was the release valve. Three points, four goals and a clean sheet is the kind of afternoon that steadies a season and reminds a fanbase what this squad is capable of when it clicks. For Union, it was a chastening reckoning at the wrong end of the division.

An early knockout

The first goal changed everything. Fernández's strike arrived so quickly that it caught Union between resolve and readiness, and the visitors never recovered their footing. Gutiérrez's involvement in the build-up hinted at the influence he would exert all afternoon, a left-sided presence who kept finding the pockets of space that Union simply could not close.

When the second came on 28 minutes, it followed a familiar rhythm. Gutiérrez swung over a cross from a corner and Facundo Medina rose to meet it, powering a header high into the centre of the net. Two goals, two assists from the same source, and a Leverkusen side already in full command. Union's defence had been asked a question at a set piece and had no answer.

By half-time the pattern was set. Leverkusen moved the ball with purpose and menace, stretching the visitors and probing at every seam. Union, meanwhile, offered next to nothing going forward, their attacking intent smothered before it could take root. The interval brought no respite, only a chance for the hosts to regroup and reload.

Schick seals it

If Union harboured any hope of a second-half revival, it was extinguished within three minutes of the restart. Jarell Quansah delivered from the right and Schick was there in the centre of the box, taking his chance with a clean left-footed finish straight through the middle. Three-nil, and the game was as good as filed away.

Schick's goal carried the assurance of a striker in rhythm, a predator who needed only a sniff of an opportunity. It was his movement, his timing of the run and the coolness of the finish that separated him from a Union backline by now thoroughly demoralised. The BayArena, sensing the rout, began to enjoy itself.

The fourth arrived on 66 minutes and it was the pick of the bunch. Schick turned creator, feeding Maza on the edge of the area, and the young man responded with a right-footed strike that curled into the top-right corner. It was a goal of genuine quality, the exclamation mark on a comprehensive afternoon, and it underlined the depth of talent Leverkusen possess across the pitch.

What it means

Leverkusen climb with a swagger. From a modest opening to their campaign, this emphatic win lifts them to three points and, more importantly, restores a sense of identity. Six goals scored in two matches suggests an attack capable of overwhelming anyone on its day, and the clean sheet offers reassurance that the balance is there. Fifth place understates the direction of travel; the manner of this victory suggests a side ready to climb.

There is real encouragement in the spread of contributors. Fernández and Medina from open play and set piece, Schick with his poacher's instinct, Maza with a moment of individual brilliance, and Gutiérrez pulling the strings from the flank. A team that scores from so many sources is a difficult one to plan against, and Leverkusen will travel with confidence renewed.

The table now flatters them slightly, but momentum is a currency of its own in these early rounds. Get the machine humming and the points tend to follow. On this evidence, Leverkusen have found their gears at exactly the right moment, and the rest of the division will have taken note.

Union in trouble

For 1. FC Union Berlin, this was a bruising afternoon that leaves them 15th and searching for answers. A single point from their opening two games tells its own story, and seven goals conceded already points to a defence that has yet to find its footing. Conceding inside the first minute set a tone they could never shift, and the set-piece frailty that gifted Leverkusen their second will worry the coaching staff most of all.

Union have long prided themselves on organisation and grit, on being awkward opponents who make sides earn every yard. None of that was visible here. They were passive when they needed to be aggressive, ragged when they needed to be compact, and by the end they were simply trying to keep the score respectable. The gulf between the two sides on the day was stark.

The road ahead demands an immediate response. A club with Union's recent pedigree will not want to linger near the relegation places, and there is more than enough of the season left to correct course. But this was a warning, delivered with force at the BayArena, and the work of rebuilding confidence begins now. How they answer will define the weeks to come.