What the papers say: 'Bayer 04 on course for the Champions League'

The view of the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger in its Sunday edition (e-paper): "First things first: Bayer 04 Leverkusen's deserved 2-0 home win against Borussia Mönchengladbach has reinforced their ambition to achieve the desired qualification for the Champions League and also extended the gap to a direct rival to nine points. … Man of the match: Lucas Alario. The Argentinian stood out as the scorer of the first goal and provider of the second as well as making a number of impressive contributions - both in attack and defence - to a successful night from a Leverkusen perspective."

The Sonntags Express also praises the striker under the headline "KNALLario bags Bayer derby hat-trick": "Bayer complete derby hat-trick. After the wins in the DFB Cup and the previous league encounter, Leverkusen also emerged victorious from the third match of the season against Mönchengladbach. Following the 2-0 victory over Borussia, the Werkself remain on course for the Champions League. The Foals are suffering acute Euro alarm after six defeats in the second half of the season."

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung also believes the Werkself are on their way to the Champions League: "Bayer Leverkusen are back in the Champions League spots. The Rheinlanders won 2-0 on Saturday night in the third meeting with Borussia Mönchengladbach this season. At the same time, Gladbach are almost completely out of the running for a place in Europe's premier club competition. In front of a 28,809 crowd at Leverkusen's BayArena, Lucas Alario (39') and Julian Brandt (90+3) scored for the hosts in the 72nd west derby ...“

Bild am Sonntag quotes Rudi Völler on the performance of Lucas Alario: "The opener was a classic centre-forward's goal. The way he shielded the ball - was very good. That's why we signed Lucas." And then the journal makes the following point: "After two games at home without scoring , there was finally a goal to celebrate at the Arena for the first time since 28 January. … Leverkusen already have more points (44) than in the whole of last season (41)."

The online edition of the Rheinische Post believes Bayer 04 are too strong for Borussia Mönchengladbach this season : "The Werkself have a new favourite opponent: Borussia Mönchengladbach. Bayer 04 registered a third win of the season against their Rhenish neighbours on Saturday night following the 5-1 win in the previous league fixture and the 1-0 victory in the Cup." And the paper also noted another impressive gesture at the start of the game: "The action on the pitch was not centre stage all the time: The supporters of both clubs refrained from singing their respective songs for the first 60 seconds of the game. The minute's silence  was in memory of the recently deceased Mönchengladbach fan Waltraud 'Walli' Hamraths."

And finally, the Kicker draws the following conclusion: "Bayer 04 Leverkusen have reinforced their ambition to qualify for Europe, and the Champions League in particular, with a deserved 2-0 win in the Rhineland derby against Gladbach. While the Werkself remained in the top four with a second win in succession, the once again stumbling Foals  have dropped off the pace in the second half of the season."