What the papers say: Volland wants to tell his grandchildren about his first hat-trick

Under the headline 'Volland dispatches Eintracht' Bild-plus online draws the following conclusion: "Bayer Leverkusen topped the away victory over Leipzig with a convincing home win against Eintracht Frankfurt, beating the rivals for a Champions League spot from the banking metropolis 4-1."

Bild am Sonntag (BamS) adds: "The outstanding player this time was Kevin Volland with a hat-trick scored in less than 17 minutes. Volland (BamS  top mark 1): 'I was in the right place at the right time. I'll be telling my grandchildren about my first hat-trick.'"

The Sonntags Express also identified our number 31 as the best player on the pitch: "Kevin Volland was the outstanding player for the Werkself. The striker bagged his hat-trick within 17 minutes. With the second 4-1 win against a direct rival within a week (after RB Leipzig), Bayer laid down a clear marker in the race for a Champions League spot. 'I'm obviously happy about my three goals. I was about twelve when I scored my last hat-trick. But it was more important for us to win today,' said the match winner Volland. It was Bayer's first home win against a team from the top third of the table."

The Express opted for a different man of the match. It was for the Frankfurt coach and former Leverkusen player Niko Kovac and his appointment at the record champions Bayern Munich: "All eyes were on Niko Kovac. … Kovac looked shattered and the last 24 hours have taken their toll. He appeared to be unimpressed saying: 'My well-being is good as it was before. I'm still up for it all the way."

The online edition of the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger on Sunday draws the following conclusion: "There can be no argument about Leverkusen deserving to win the game even though the result - measured on the course of the match - may have been somewhat flattering in the end. With two wins in six days against direct rivals, Bayer have clearly demonstrated their right to be in the race for a Champions League qualification place." The journal then looks forward: "The next big game is already coming up - the mighty Bayern Munich visit the BayArena on Tuesday for the semi-final tie in the DFB Cup. Without looking too cocky, the Werkself and their supporters can look forward to this game with hope."

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung focus is on the start of the Niko Kovac 'farewell tour' : "Niko Kovac was centre stage before kick-off, at least for the photographers, and that was only to be expected. The Eintracht Frankfurt head coach was on the touchline at a Bundesliga game for the first time  since the announcement Kovac would be the new Bayern Munich coach from 1 July. There was previous speculation about a possible move to the German record champions but the news did cause a stir and it hit Frankfurt hard. … In the performance at Leverkusen, the players initially looked unconcerned but ended up deservedly losing 4-1."

The Berlin Sunday papers naturally focus on the 'Lad from Leopoldplatz“ (Tagesspiegel) as Niko Kovac is a Berliner by birth. The Berliner Zeitung (BZ): "The future Bayern coach Niko Kovac has lost sight of qualification for the Champions League with Frankfurt. A 4-1 defeat at rivals Leverkusen. Eintracht's fifth away defeat on the bounce takes them down to sixth place."

Finally, the online edition of the Rheinische Post points out that there is more to celebrate at a Bundesliga fixture than just football. "In front of a capacity 30,210 crowd at the BayArena , the home supporters did not sing the usual songs at the start of the game. There was a minute's silence for legendary Leverkusen fan Heinz Ern who passed away a week ago after a long illness."