Brandt: 'We need to learn from this'

Julian Brandt slowly shuffled up to the gathered journalists. His face was still slightly flushed, sweat running down his cheeks. The strain of the 90 minutes was still written all over the face of the 20-year-old.

"We are all disappointed. The mood in the dressing room isn't exactly great," Brandt said.

"We did not deserve today to win it, we played good football for half an hour, but then conceded two goals... "

Brandt couldn't explain what went wrong in the match. However, despite the disappointment on the night, Brandt wasn't at all fazed when facing reporters in the mixed zone. He calmly answered all of the reporters' questions.

"We have a young team, which is no excuse, of course, but we have to learn from this," Brandt said. "Life now goes on. We haven't been eliminated from the Champions League yet."

No real ideas

Brandt knows that Leverkusen can play better. He also knows that he can play better. Even tonight, he was one of the best players on the pitch. He showed his class in the first few minutes in particular, playing his opponents dizzy, outfoxing them with surprising passes, creating danger in the penalty area . A quick step-over here, a shoulder feint there, eyes never on the ball, but always with his head up, trying to create something unpredictable.

This is how Brandt played himself into the hearts the Leverkusen faithful last season. However, against Moscow the talented youngster couldn't come up with that one decisive action needed to tip the result in the favor of the home team.

"I don't want to make it any worse than it already is," Brandt said. "The fact is that it is really annoying, but I'm not going to put myself under added pressure. The best thing for us to do at the moment is to remain calm."

No to Bayern Munich - at least for now

Having been part of the German team that won silver at the Olympic Games in Rio and having inherited Bastian Schweinsteiger's jersey number in the national team, Brandt has had a good start to the new football season. These experiences have helped him to mature. Brandt is developing both on and off the football pitch. Should the talented offensive player continue to develop at this rate, Bayern Munich could come knocking once again next summer, having also expressed interest three years ago.

"He visited us with his father, after it had become clear that he was leaving the Wolfsburg's junior side," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told "SportBild."

"Julian opted for Leverkusen at that time, although we would have liked to have signed him," the Bayern chief continued.

Potential to become a leader

Prying the 20-year-old away from Leverkusen won't come cheap, as Brandt's contract runs until 2019. It was negotiated by Michael Reschke when he was still manager at Leverkusen. Shortly after doing so, he moved on to Bayern.

"Reschke once said the thing that annoys him most is Julian's contract - which he negotiated. That says it all," said Jonas Boldt, Reschke's successor in Leverkusen.

There were rumors of a move in the summer transfer window - but Brandt stayed put. It was the right decision, because in Leverkusen, his qualities are appreciated. At the Rhineland club, Brandt has the opportunity to develop into a leader. He can take the next step in his development this weekend, when Roger Schmidt's men travel to Frankfurt, where much will be riding on the performance of one Julian Brandt.