What the papers say - class plus mentality

The Kölner Stadt Anzeiger comes to the following conclusion in their online edition: “Bayer 04 Leverkusen demonstrated their class with eleven against eleven and their mentality when they were a man down. The Werkself are now unbeaten in ten games. At the same time, neither quality has been reflected in the league table as the one characteristic needed to make them into a top team is missing, namely efficiency.” And, under the headline “That was good”, we can read: “Discipline and passion were evident in Leverkusen’s game throughout...”

The Sonntags Express picks out the performance of Kevin Volland: “It was his ninth goal of the season. That makes the Bayer striker the highest scoring German goalscorer in the Bundesliga - and a potential option for Jogi Löw in the Germany squad. And it was Leverkusen who dominated the game in the first half. Bayer were well on the way to passing their first European test. Kai Havertz with a header against the bar and Charles Aránguiz in a one-on-one with the outstanding BVB keeper Roman Bürki both missed the chance to seal the win.”

Bildplus assess the game as follows: “An entertaining Saturday match at the BayArena deservedly ended in a 1-1 draw. Leverkusen were clearly the better side in the first half and could have lead by more than 1-0. BVB only improved after Wendell was sent off and they were the dominant side in the second half. However, Borussia lacked ideas against a solid Rhineland team and were unable to achieve more than the equaliser scored by Yarmolenko. Bayer can accept the point after being a man down on 50 minutes and be happy with a brave performance.” And the Bild am Sonntag headline also reads: “Best German striker! Is Volland off to the World Cup?”

The Sunday edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung points out the long-term statistics: “The runs of both teams have continued: Leverkusen were unbeaten in the previous nine Bundesliga games and BVB were without a win in seven games. However, the third draw of the season may moderate discussions on the future of Dortmund coach Peter Bosz.”

The online edition of the Rheinische Post praises Leverkusen’s desire to win despite being a man down: “(Heiko Herrlich) .. on the Leverkusen bench reacted to conceding the goal by bringing on Karim Bellarabi, who scored the fastest goal in the history of the Bundesliga against BVB, in a straight swap for Kevin Volland. A striker for a striker. Brave. But the gamble did not produce a better result.”

The Dortmund journal Ruhr Nachrichten describes Borussia’s reaction: “After the 1-1 draw at Leverkusen, the responses of the Dortmund players were once gain positive for the first time in weeks. ‘One step forwards’ was the view of both Marcel Schmelzer and Neven Subotic, in his first game for a while, before adding that Leverkusen were a) a strong team anyway and b) had proved they were difficult to beat with a player down in the recent game against Leipzig.”