
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."

Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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