The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung , under the headline 'From nought to one hundred', reports: "The Werkself won because of the introduction of international Julian Brandt with pace injected into the game that Gladbach were unable to deal with... The goals from Bender, Bailey, Brandt and Volland completely turn the game around – in a very attractive and exciting way. The course of the game must have appeared like an unexpected storm for Borussia as they faced the natural force that was Leverkusen. Bayer made a clear statement of intent. This team showed everything it was capable of on Saturday in just 45 minutes. That should serve as a warning for rivals in future games over the full 90 minutes."
The Bild am Sonntag also praises the contribution of the coaching staff In the upturn. Under the headline 'Völler praises Herrlich', the tabloid writes: "The half-time talk and substitutions made by the Leverkusen coach hit the right spot.“ Five Werkself pros - Sven Bender, Wendell, Leon Bailey, Julian Brandt and Kai Havertz - were named in their team of the day.
The Cologne-based Express describes the action after the break as follows: "Leverkusen's change of formation with the impressive Brandt coming on proved to be relentless. Boom, boom, boom– it rained goals for Bayer. After levelling at 1-1, the Werkself played fantastic counter-attacking football."
The online edition of the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger reports: "Bayer 04 produced a fantastic display after the break. After a recent upturn in form, the Werkself discovered the ability to exploit their goalscoring chances to the full in this game."
The Rheinische Post highlights the dimensions of the defeat for Borussia: "Gladbach have only lost at home by the same margin four times in the their Bundesliga history. The 5-1 reverse is the biggest defeat in the 13-year history of the stadium and biggest home defeat in 19 years. Bayer Leverkusen were also the visitors to the Bökelberg stadium on 30 October 1998. It was 4-1 at half-time and ended 8-2 after 90 minutes."
Further headlines: Westdeutsche Allgemeine: "Leverkusen show Gladbach the way"
Berliner Morgenpost: "5-1 at Gladbach – Leverkusen warm-up for Union tie"
Kicker: "At 1-0 Bayer roll over casual Borussia“
