What the papers say: Bayer 04 were livelier and more alert

The verdict in the online edition of the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger is: "Once again Bayer 04 have won a game seen as a decisive match for the future of coach Roger Schmidt. This time, the team not only showed desire but also the potential they possess. The two together lead to the following conclusion: There have been problems this season preventing the Werkself from performing at their best with the necessary regularity. However, it will be wrong to see that as the only issue in the relationship between coach and players. Otherwise not everybody would have played as they did on Saturday against a strong Bundesliga side."

The Rheinische Post (online) identifies the changes from the Werkself match away to Hamburg: "In contrast to the poor performance against HSV, Bayer were livelier and more alert and they dominated proceedings…The coach Schmidt made a number of changes to his line-up. Kevin Volland and Admir Mehmedi were replaced up front by the Chicharito, returning after injury, and, surprisingly, Kai Havertz. The captain Lars Bender celebrated his comeback after a long injury lay-off in defensive midfield, starting in place of Julian Baumgartlinger. Tin Jedvaj replaced the injured Jonathan Tah in central defence; Julian Brandt came into the starting eleven for Charles Aránguiz."

The Sonntags Express described how good this victory is for the Werkself: "Club boss Michael Schade was the first to express his congratulations for the most convincing performance for a long time. A warm embrace between the two showed that all the disquiet of recent weeks was forgotten for at least one day. Schmidt can thank, above all, goalkeeper Bernd Leno (24) and striker Chicharito (28) that Bayer were able to celebrate another victory. The 'Pea' found his shooting boots again. The Mexican was responsible for Bayer's dream start." And, commenting on the comeback for Lars Bender, the Express says: "… The captain was back to normal. Bender stood out straight away with his vision and pivotal role and he put in a challenge whenever it was needed. A true leader Bayer have seriously missed for a long time."

Under the headline, ' Leverkusen can still do it', the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung commented: "Crisis? What crisis? Bayer shone against the top team from Frankfurt and won 3-0. … The Werkself beat the third-placed team from Hessen thanks to two goals from Chicharito and a strike from Volland to make it 3-0. … Bayer fought for victory with great commitment and equally great passion and deservedly came out on top against the toughest team in the Bundesliga at the moment."

The online edition of Kicker also recognises the clear dominance of Bayer 04: "In a hard-fought match, a committed Leverkusen side turned the corner after two defeats against a more than capable Eintracht team to run out 3-0 winners. After going behind early on, Frankfurt went close to levelling the scores in the middle of the first half but after the restart power of Bayer saw the match almost settled with a true wonder strike."