What the papers say: 'Kießling the King at Schalke'

A look at what the papers say:

The Frankfurter Rundschau reports: “Stefan Kießling secures an important win for Bayer Leverkusen in the race for a European qualification finish in the Bundesliga” and quotes sporting director Rudi Völler: ‘We’ve had more deserved wins. We didn’t do a very good job. But we won’t apologise and we’re happy to take all three points.”

The Bild Zeitung headline reads: “Kießling saves Bayer”. The report continues: “One chance, one lucky moment was enough! Hakan Calhanoglu provided a perfect ball from a (disputed free kick) for Kießling and the veteran striker headed in his first goal of the season. It was goal number 32 for Kieß in a Sunday game, the highest number in the Bundesliga. ‘It’s great it worked out again. Hakan is brilliant at free kicks and you can do a lot with balls like that. I just had to put it away,’ beamed Kießling.”

The Kölner Stadt Anzeiger analysis under the headline “Kießling scores in last minute”: “The visitors Bayer 04 Leverkusen provided a lesson on how not to play a game of football with eleven against ten. Uncertainty and frustration abounded. Then Calhanoglu put a ball in the box. And Stefan Kießling, the old warhorse, headed the ball into the Schalke net. Bayer 04 Leverkusen were able to win 1-0 in a match extremely important to their ambitions in the Bundesliga although they got nearly everything wrong.”

The view of Kicker: “After the restart, Schmidt played Yurchenko and Calhanoglu in holding midfield as he wanted to apply more pressure with these attacking players. In the end it took a fortunate goal from Calhanoglu’s free kick. A flattering win for Bayer with a man extra.”

The Cologne-based Express headline “Kießling the King at Schalke” is followed by: “The hero, Stefan Kießling, could hardly believe his luck. After six months of bad luck in terms of injuries he succeeded landing a knock-out blow. ‘I’ve played for 90 minutes twice and I’m knackered. When I lay down on the couch Stretch out my legs then I’ll really enjoy the moment.'... Bayer can move further up the table up to Christmas. ‘We want to pick up as many points as possible before the winter break,' said Rudi Völler.”

The Rheinische Post reports: “Stefan Kießling helped Bayer Leverkusen secure a flattering 1-0 win at Schalke 04 with a late goal and the Werkself are almost back in touch with the European positions in the Bundesliga... Just four minutes into the game Deniz Aytekin promoted the Schalke fans from twelfth to eleventh man in the team. The referee decided the tackle by the Schalke defensive stalwart Naldo on Chicharito was a foul preventing a clear goalscoring opportunity so he produced the red card. ‘You can show a red card there,’ said Schalke sporting director Christian Heidel on Sky. It was the fastest dismissal for a Schalke player in the history of the Bundesliga.”

The Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung declares: “Leverkusen were no better despite the extra man. A defining moment: Schalke keeper Ralf Fährmann was centre stage with five minutes to play when he saved a shot from Bayer. Shortly after that, Fährmann had to pick the ball out of the back of the net.”