What the papers say: The Werkself 'delivered impressively'
The local press are unanimous in their assessment of Bayer 04's 3-1 win in the home derby against FC Köln: The three points for the Black and Reds were more than deserved.
The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reports: "Not only could part of the humiliation from the previous meeting be forgotten. Bayer 04 remain one point ahead of Gladbach in Champions League position four thanks to the win." And addressing the start by the Werkself, the report continues: "The statistics revealed five corners after seven minutes for the clearly superior Leverkusen team."
The Süddeutsche Zeitung assesses the performance of the Black and Reds as follows: "Bayer director Rudi Völler and coach Peter Bosz spoke with one voice ahead of the game, demanding 'atonement' for the 2-0 defeat earlier in the season – the team delivered impressively in teeming rain."
"Richly deserved victory"
In the Kölnische Rundschau, under the headline "Bayer's revenge", the talk is of a "richly deserved victory." The journal continues: "As pouring rain set in with the kick-off, Leverkusen left no doubt that they were determined to make amends for the game earlier in the season."
The Kicker names the outstanding Moussa Diaby as the Man of the Match. The reasoning: "With his pacey dribbling, he was almost unstoppable for his opposite number Katterbach: He crowned his top performance with the decisive goal to make it 3-1." The assessment of the game: "The clearly superior Leverkusen team only briefly allowed the dramatically limited Köln side to get a sniff of a point."
"Bayer make Köln dizzy"
And the Bild reports: "Bayer made Köln dizzy for around 50 minutes. Diaby and Bailey much too fast, Havertz too clever. Leverkusen on the way to the Champions League simply too strong as shown by six corners in the first five minutes.
The Express praises Diaby and Havertz and awards top marks for the Werkself's attacking attitude. On the game: "For a long time, it looked like a show of strength but in the end it was 'only' a deserved victory."
The summary of the 90 minutes of the derby in the Rheinische Post reads: "Bayer Leverkusen remain undisturbed on course for the Champions League: The Werkself deservedly beat the Rhineland rivals FC Köln 3-1 and regained Champions League position four."
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