Are Bayern Munich as good as we need them to be?

For a team so famous, Bayern Munich can be a mysterious bunch. Presumably, those that follow them above all other teams, and those that follow the Bundesliga above all other leagues, know the answer. But for the full spectrum modern football fan, trying to stay plugged into everything and so inevitably skimping a little bit on everything, it can be quite tricky to answer the question: How good are they, really?

The usual tests return predictable data of limited value. Are they strolling the Bundesliga? Yes, they are. Have they made comfortable progress through their Champions League group stage? Yes, they have. Have they got a really strong squad containing loads of German internationals? Well, obviously. So, are they actually and properly good? Er … maybe. Probably. They’re Bayern Munich, after all. Why wouldn’t they be?

So going into the Champions League semifinals, it was easy to assume that Bayern were the most sensible of the teams left in the competition. Liverpool: terrifying hyperactive dervishes. Roma: sparky underdogs. Real Madrid: indolent aristocrats who spend most of their time lounging around before deciding, apparently on a whim, to flex their privilege. Bayern — this imagined, inferred Bayern, assembled from league tables, highlights, presumptions, stereotypes, and that deep and powerful squad list — were supposed to be, well, Bayern. The functional football team. The grown-ups.

Then they went and played the first leg against Real Madrid, and they lost, 2-1, and it was all very weird.

Weird isn’t straightforwardly bad, we should be clear. They created plenty of chances, and even the best strikers are allowed to have bad days. And Madrid, particularly in the first half, were at their most irritatingly Madriddy, faffing around incoherently for ages before suddenly deciding to score a goal. It’s moderately annoying to watch; it must be utterly infuriating to play against.

Perhaps weird, above all else, means disappointing. Though the chances kept coming for Bayern, a grip on the game never quite materialised. In this they were unfortunate with injuries both before the game, with Arturo Vidal missing, and during it, as both Arjen Robben and Jerome Boateng limped off early. That’s a midfield dynamo, a goal threat, and a defensive leader, all missing, and all obviously and clearly missed.

Disappointment, then, because any group of talented players chafing against one another is always underwhelming. Disappointment because the night before was a chaotic mess of wonderment and this really, really wasn’t. Disappointment because this Madrid side continue their stroll to three-in-a-row not by overcoming a grand challenge, but because that grand challenge failed to materialise.

And disappointment, finally, because it turns out that one can’t just construct a Bayern Munich side out of league tables and expectations and have them turn up and play the way they should. The universe, it turns out, does not always unfold in predictable patterns, and attention must be paid to the details. Which is a most disconcerting discovery to make on a Wednesday night.