What the papers say: 'Hats off to the hat-trick hero'

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung article under the headline "Three peas for Mainz" reports: "In the Bundesliga it is an established tradition for the scorer of three goals to keep the match ball with the permission of the referee. Chicharito was proud to do that when his three goals (on 32, 67 and 90 minutes) for his Bayer Leverkusen team almost single-handedly turned a lost cause into a 3-2 victory. 'That demonstrates his wily ability to know where the ball should go,' praised sporting director Rudi Völler. Coach Roger Schmidt was a little more considered in his analysis that Chicharito needed time to recover from his broken arm at the start of the campaign. 'He wasn't fully fit but now he's back on top form. It also helped him that he had a strike partner in the closing stages when Stefan Kießling came on as that gave him more room to operate,' said Schmidt. 'He doesn't hesitate when he gets a chance.'"

The Bild am Sonntag also looks at the man of the match: "His team-mates showered the Mexican with praise. Volland: 'I don't know anybody who is as good as he is in front of goal.' Sporting director Rudi Völler (56) was reminded of his days as a striker :' Otto Rehhagel always said to me you don't have to win every tackle only the important ones. His wiliness stands out.' Chicharito had four shots at goal – three goals, one against the post (83')."

The Cologne newspaper Express describes the second half at Mainz: "Now it got going. Bayer took the game by the scruff of the neck. The introduction of Volland and Kießling increased the pressure while Mainz were unable to get a single shot on goal in the second half. Less than two minutes after coming on, Kießling set up the equaliser and Chicharito added another in added time. 'I'm very happy,' beamed the Mexican: 'but I'm most grateful to my team-mates for the great support they gave me."

The Kicker comes the following conclusion: "Two strong teams, lots of tackles, lots of chances and five goals – the match between Mainz and Leverkusen was definitely a good advert for football. Mainz 05 lead at half-time but the Werkself were able to turn the game round after an impressive second-half performance. The matchwinner was Chicharito who is headed third goal in added time secured the three points."

The online edition of the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger reports: "Everyone at Bayer 04, whose moods are closely linked to the Werkself results, could heave a sigh of relief after this keenly awaited and urgently needed victory… The second-half display clearly demonstrated what this excellent Leverkusen group are actually capable of. However, it is important not to forget the performance before the break when the team looked all at sea."