What the papers say: 'Stability at the cost of offensive play'

The Kölner Stadt Anzeiger reports a "sobering experience in Sinsheim" and describes safety as the prime directive: "As in the game against Schalke 04, Leverkusen were primarily focused on their own stability against Hoffenheim. That is initially understandable in terms of setting priorities for a team in crisis after the appointment of a new coach. On the other hand, TSG had suffered three defeats in succession and has one of the most fragile defences in the league. More courage in attack would possibly not have harmed the Werkself."

The Rheinische Post describes the two best chances for the Werkself before the break: "The best opportunity in the first half fell to Bayer's top talent Florian Wirtz. From an impressive cross by Tin Jedvaj, in the Werkself starting line-up for the first time in more than two years, the 17-year-old had a free run at the Hoffenheim goal. However, once in the penalty area, he hesitated too long and allowed himself to be dispossessed (18'). The second good chance for the visitors came from captain Charles Aránguiz with the TSG goalkeeper Oliver Baumann turning his shot away for a corner (25')."

The individual analysis in the RP names Sven Bender as the best Leverkusen player with the explanation: "After a few seconds, the experienced central defender introduced himself to Christoph Baumgartner's hand, which somehow made contact with his face in a challenge, and left him lying on the pitch. But the concerned look from Hannes Wolf proved to be unfounded. The 31-year-old carried on playing, was dominant and held the defence together against a comparatively harmless Hoffenheim."

"Leverkusen looked slightly better"

The strong visitors' defence was also a subject for discussion in kicker: "Defensive stalwart Sven Bender made sure there were no problems in defence for Bayer in combination with Tin Jedvaj and Edmond Tapsoba. At the same time, stability in defence came at the cost of offensive play where the visitors from the Rhine were unable to turn several good moves into a single clear-cut chance."

The Bild Zeitung looks at the scheduling of the fixture and the headline refers to the last match at the start of the week: "The Bundesliga ends Mondays with a blank." The report continues: "Leverkusen looked slightly better but Aránguiz was the only one to force Baumann into making a save (25'). Otherwise there were no highlights. Typical for the first half: Hoffenheim did not have a shot on goal in 45 minutes for the first time in eleven years (!)."