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."
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."
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."
After Jens Nowotny was officially named a Bayer 04 honorary captain last weekend, the long-standing Werkself player is part of the Leverkusen delegation on the trophy tour to New York City next week from 11 to 14 September. In an interview with bayer04.de, the 50-year-old talked about his expectations ahead of the trip to the metropolis on the East Coast of the USA.
Show moreThe German Football League (DFL) has confirmed the dates and kick-off times for matchdays 6 to 12 of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. Full details of the Bayer 04 fixtures.
Show moreMarkus Rehm, a long jumper at TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, won the gold medal for the fourth time in succession at the Paralympics on Wednesday.
Show moreThe fixture details for the second round of the DFB Pokal 2024/25 have been confirmed. The home tie for Bayer 04 against second division SV 07 Elversberg is on Tuesday, 29 October with the kick off at 18.00 CET (live on Sky). That was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday.
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