What the papers say: 'Crushing end to a great run'

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ascribed a "rude awakening" to the Werkself and reported: "Peter Bosz did not seek explanations for his team's current run that brought 13 wins in the 15 matches in the second half of the season up to Tuesday. As everything was going like clockwork at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, the coach of the team lying fourth in the Bundesliga just said before the clash with VfL Wolfsburg: 'Lots of people call it the flow.' However, the unstoppable flowing football of the Rhinelanders came to an abrupt end on Tuesday night. Stopped by the other concern club from the motor city of Wolfsburg, the Leverkusen team used to winning fell back on the old, inconsistent times. Bayer suffered an unexpected 4-1 defeat against an alert, focused and more powerful team from Lower Saxony."

The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger opts for the headline: "Crash landing after flying high." The report continues: "After six wins in seven games, the Werkself suffered a 4-1 defeat against VfL Wolfsburg, the first defeat since 1 February and a bitter blow in the race for a Champions League position. Instead of moving within one point of Borussia Dortmund with a win, Mönchengladbach were able to go above Bayer 04. And the night was not a good one for the Werkself goal difference. Leverkusen were victims of the phenomenon of games behind closed doors: Home teams clearly find it significantly more difficult at empty stadiums than their visitors. Wolfsburg won with a healthy combination of physical strength and efficiency."

The Kölnische Rundschau reports a "crushing end to a great run": "Bayer Leverkusen suffered defeat again after 115 days and now have to worry about qualifying for the Champions League. The team under coach Peter Bosz surprisingly lost 4-1 to VfL Wolfsburg after a desolate performance and were unable to build on to the important points picked up from the clash with Borussia Mönchengladbach (3-1)."

The Bild Zeitung saw a "Scary defeat for Bosz" at the BayArena. The report reads: "Bayer break great run with a defeat: It was the first home defeat in 2020. Seven league games and a total of 12 matches are followed by another defeat. (…) Leverkusen had big problems in the first half. Tapsoba (13') and keeper Hradecky (16') had to make last-ditch saves. The goalkeeper was helpless with the header from Pongracic – 0-1 (43')."

The tone in other newspapers was not much different. The Ruhr Nachrichten witnessed a "headless Bayer team that experienced a bitter and rude awakening after the best second half of the season in the club's history." The online edition of the Rheinische Post identified: "Wolfsburg end the Werkself run." The Kicker drew this conclusion: "For the first time since the start of February, Bayer Leverkusen lost a competitive match thanks to a 4-1 defeat against VfL Wolfsburg. The team from Lower Saxony earned the win against the under-performing Rhinelanders thanks to a focused and committed performance both in defence and in attack."