What the papers say: Impressive Werkself defence secures point

90 minutes plus added time full of determination, grit and closing down - Bayer 04 treated the sell-out crowd at the BayArena to a thrilling encounter with the record champions. That effort produced a goalless draw despite being a man down after Tin Jedvaj was sent off on the 58 minutes. The media are full of praise for the Bayer 04 defence.

The online edition of the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger looks back and forwards: “Bayer 04 Leverkusen, thanks in part to good fortune on the pitch, battled to win a point against FC Bayern Munich and that could turn out to be very important. It remains to be seen to what extent. The rest of the fixtures are tricky: Three away games (Freiburg, Ingolstadt, Hertha Berlin) and two home games (Schalke, Köln) are left to play.”

Bild am Sonntag looks forward to Bayern’s remaining fixtures: “Bayern only draw 0-0 at Leverkusen despite having an extra man. With three days left before the return game in Madrid, the Munich team missed two many chances. However, what happened 590 kilometres south east of the BayArena on Saturday morning is much more important. The sidelined Bayern stars went through their paces on the training ground. The outcome: There are two reasons to be hopeful ahead of the Champions League quarter-final second leg at Real Madrid on Tuesday.... There are high hopes for Robert Lewandowski (28). The top goalscorer is working hard on his comeback from a shoulder injury from 10.46 with fitness boss Dr. Andreas Schlumberger. With the ball.”

Under the headline “Leno frustrates profligate Bayern” the Sonntags Express reports: “One head, a stomach, a leg - Leverkusen needed every part of the body to achieve a flattering 0-0 draw against Bayern. The Munich team proved to be a profligate Bayern. It was incredible how the record champions missed a massive chance on 36 minutes: Alaba beat Leno, Jedvaj threw himself at the shot and blocked it with his stomach. The ball came to Vidal via Martinez and he headed it goalwards but Toprak slid in to clear the ball off the line. Even the World Cup winner Lothar Matthäus was impressed in the stands: ‘A world class defensive move by Leverkusen.'”

The Süddeutsche Zeitung highlights Bayern’s poor finishing: “The expression ‘sandwich match’ applies to the FC Bayern match at Leverkusen - an inconvenient obligation in the Bundesliga between the matches against Real Madrid. That sounds attractive but is a little irritating as a sandwich normally involves being in two slices of bread. The evening on the banks of the Rhine was suitably confusing and ended in an absurd 0-0 draw: The men from Munich failed to score in a one-sided game. They can take comfort from having created a dozen, in part, very good chances but they are really annoyed about failing to score. ‘I’m really fed up,' said Thomas Müller who made his contribution to both stats (lots of chances, no goals).”

The online edition of the Rheinische Post also looks at the prospects for the Werkself: “The visitors from Munich looked to be on top in the first half but the Werkself also produced some good moves. The first real threat to the Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer came on 30 minutes. Kevin Volland ran to the byline and crossed to the unmarked Julian Brandt. The 20-year-old slipped slightly and hit the ball against his own leg - chance gone.“

The Kicker saw a very entertaining encounter: “Whenever Bayer Leverkusen play Bayern Munich it usually is an absolutely top game in the Bundesliga. Not so on matchday 29 in 2016/17: The two teams are separated by 33 points head of this match. This clash had a number of highlights: Bayer missed a couple of chances in the first half before FCB failed to convert a number of clear-cut chances. In the end it was an entertaining 0-0 draw - including a dismissal for two yellow cards.”