What the papers say: Wirtz sets Bundesliga record

“Leverkusen blow away Essen frustration,” is the headline in the BILD match report and that is followed by a glowing assessment: “That was a treat!”

The press reports particularly praise the performance in the first half. “The Werkself outplayed the unusually passive and nervous VfB with clever use of space, quick passing and frequent involvement of the wingers,” was the analysis in the kicker online.

“Chances practically every minute”

The Cologne-based Stadt-Anzeiger is similarly enthusiastic: “Without a shadow of a doubt in their footballing ability, the team led by coach Peter Bosz did well to exploit the big gaps in the Stuttgart defence and created chances and openings practically every minute,” the newspaper reports in describing the Werkself performance and it also identifies the “desire and joy of the Leverkusen strikers, who were full of interpassing.”

RP ONLINE take a close look after the opener from Kerem Demirbay and come to the following conclusion: “The resulting celebration of the midfielder illustrates the relief at the lead that gave the Werkself confidence.”

Wirtz sets Bundesliga record

The Welt am Sonntag describes the phase after the opening goal as follows: “Bayer were absolutely outstanding and the visitors were lucky that only one goal was scored before the break.” There was a nice side note: “For Demirbay, who this time scored from a Bailey lay-off, it was his second brace in his 117^th Bundesliga game.”

The EXPRESS also highlights two other players behind the Leverkusen win in addition to Demirbay. “Moussa Diaby set up three goals – and there was the record goal from Florian Wirtz to make it 4-1,” the newspaper reports. “The former FC Köln player became the first player under 18 to score five goals in the Bundesliga.”