At 1–0 the Leverkusen players stood aside as Uwe Wegmann wandered peacefully through midfield and scored. Then, of all people, Markus Münch — who would return to Bayern after the season — launched the move that made survival possible. In the end Leverkusen stayed up and Lautern went down.
The scenes on the Bayer side were almost as emotional as those of the devastated Palatinate club. And with Christoph Daum arriving on July 1, 1996, a new era began immediately. The great irony remained: a clear act of unsporting behaviour had helped save Bayer Leverkusen from relegation and had condemned Kaiserslautern instead.
It was a very special moment indeed.