What the papers say: 'Lack of resolve and precision'

The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger assessment under the heading "That was good" reads: "The Leverkusen offensive game after the opening goal to half-time." The list under the heading "That was bad" takes up more space: "A full count would include a long list of deficiencies relating to a lack of resolve in finishing, missing precision in passing, softness in challenges and, in part, naïveté in defending against opposition counter-attacks."

The choice for Man of the Match was obvious after 90 minutes in Sinsheim: "Surprisingly, the Hoffenheim reserve keeper Philipp Pentke who, after his unusual Bundesliga debut at the age of 34, replaced the injured Oliver Baumann for a third time. He did not concede any more goals in the first half after the early opener for Leverkusen. He made some spectacular saves to deny Havertz and Amiri in a hectic end to the game. Actually, he had been seen as the Achilles' heel of the team from North Baden."

"Chance after chance"

The report in the Bild am Sonntag also focuses on the outstanding Hoffenheim keeper: "Do you know Pentke? If not, just ask in Leverkusen! The Bayer players have just got to know the Hoffenheim goalkeeper Philipp Pentke (34). The stand-in for regular first choice Oliver Baumann (29/torn cartilage) was outstanding in goal in the 2-1 win against Leverkusen. The tabloid gave him top marks. Coach Alfred Schreuder:' If there was a man of the match then it's Pentke.' The goalkeeper (born in Freiberg) arrived in the summer from second division Regensburg. He made 58 appearances in the second division. The match against Bayer was only his third in the Bundesliga. Pentke happy:' Of course, it's something I remember for a long time.' And: 'my mum always said: 'Strength lies in calm.'' He was really calm when he saved some acrobatic efforts from Diaby, Bellarabi and Amiri. But Leverkusen did not failed just because of him. They missed chance after chance."

The online edition of Rheinische Post draws the following conclusion: "There is a long tradition in football of conditional sentences. The Werkself players and their coach Peter Bosz will recently have often used one of them: 'If we want to be a top team, then…' – Yes, what? For example, be clinical in taking your own chances, be alert in defence and win the fourth league game in succession at TSG Hoffenheim to extend the lead over clubs below and get fully involved in the race for a Champions League finish. But none of that happened. Instead Bayer had to settle for a 2-1 defeat against the team from the Kraichgau."

"Diaby, the best player"

The Berliner Tagesspiegel reports: "Hoffenheim just won out in the clash of the skilled feet. Both clubs are committed to attacking football. And that's what the spectators in the Sinsheim saw. Of the many talented players on the pitch, Leverkusen's Moussa Diaby was the best. In his opener on eleven minutes, he just nudged the ball through the legs of the opponent facing him Stefan Posch. Diaby then controlled the ball and curled it into the corner of the net. A couple of minutes later, it was again the Frenchman who left his opponent standing and only just missed out on making it 2-0 for Leverkusen.

Less delicate but all the more forceful were the hosts. After a whipped-in cross from Pavel Kaderabek, Andrej Kramaric tucked the ball into the back of the net. Only 23 minutes had been played at this point. And the fun continued. The visitors, above all Diaby and Karim Bellarabi, again and again instigated dangerous attacks. From a Hoffenheim perspective, it was either the post or the goalkeeper Philipp Pentke that prevented the worst happening. But that's football: Missed chances are often punished. And so it was in this game: Hoffenheim combined quickly and effectively on 65 minutes. Via Andrej Kramaric and Christoph Baumgartner, the ball came to Robert Skov who scored to make it 2-1. That was the final score in this game for connoisseurs."