The assessment in the Welt am Sonntag: "After three games without a goal, nobody believed Leverkusen capable of a miracle . The game ended 3-2 leaving them three goals short of a place in the Champions League. That was clearly on the cards against a weak Hannover side. But Bayer were out of luck on the day: Wendell missed a penalty (6') and a second was chalked off after the referee Winkmann consulted the VAR (85')."
Der Tagesspiegel reports: "Coach Heiko Herrlich brought on striker Stefan Kießling late in the game and he was ready to take the opportunity to score in his final Bundesliga game. However, referee Guido Winkmann changed his mind about the penalty he awarded just before Kießling came on after consulting the VAR. Going 4-0 up would have put pressure back on Dortmund in the race for a Champions League berth."
The Berliner Morgenpost highlighted the tension in the battle for Champions League qualification: "Hoffenheim and Leverkusen traded blows: The quick 2-0 lead for Bayer through Lucas Alario saw Leverkusen briefly put TSG out of the running for the Champions League places. When Reus leveled for Dortmund against Hoffenheim, the dream of playing in Europe's elite competition was alive for five minutes at the BayArena with Julian Brandt making it 3-0. In the end it was Leverkusen's opponents Hannover who ended hopes of qualifying for the Champions League with goals from Niklas Füllkrug and Martin Harnik."
The Express on the last match for Kies: "After long calls from the Bayer fans of "We want Stefan" , it happened on 84 minutes. The whole of the crowd rose to their feet as Bayer legend Stefan Kießling raced onto the pitch for his 403rd Bundesliga game."
And the Bild am Sonntag farewell reads: "Stefan Kießling (34) wins with Leverkusen in a 3-2 victory against Hannover in the final match of his career - and he is in tears after the game. And not just because Leverkusen missed out on the Champions League. Leverkusen's legend striker (403 Bundesliga games, 144 goals, at the club since 2006) was thrown up in the air by his team-mates after the final whistle and then he was surrounded by the fans with tears in his eyes."
Bayer 04 can go through to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the ninth time tonight, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET) and be in the top 16 clubs in Europe. A good omen: Leverkusen have progressed to the next round after winning the first leg in 20 of their 22 knockout rounds in European competitions to date. For their part, Greek record champions Olympiacos rested several players for last weekend’s league fixture ahead of the play-off second leg at the BayArena and will now do everything in their power to turn the tide with their usual aggressive and high pressing. The discussions on Werkself radio are likely to be just as intense as the battle on the pitch, with commentator Florian Bechholz welcoming honorary captain Stefan Kießling and goalkeeper Mark Flekken. Today’s matchday news.
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With the advantage of the 2-0 first-leg win in the play-offs, the Werkself are looking to book their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League at the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the home game against Olympiacos on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand and goalkeeper Janis Blaswich spoke about the position ahead of the match, the visitors' strength at set-pieces and a personnel issue for the home side.
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With a win in the Greek Super League last weekend, Olympiacos achieved success on the pitch ahead of the UEFA Champions League play-off second leg at Bayer 04 on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET). Coach José Luis Mendilibar rested many of his regular starters.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 0-1 loss against TSG Hoffenheim on the 19th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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