What the papers say: 'Starting shot for pursuit'

That was evident in several headlines in the national press: the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung headline reads 'Bayer set the standard', the Welt declares 'Leverkusen stop aspiring Hertha' and the Süddeutsche headline announces 'Penalty trauma overcome'. The Kölnische Rundschau heard the 'Starting shot for the pursuit' at the BayArena.

Otherwise, the media are primarily concerned with the double goalscorer Hakan Calhanoglu and Bernd Leno who reacted quickly to frustrate the best chance for the Berliners from Ibisevic. Here's a survey of other media opinion on Sunday's match:

The Kicker writes: "What an important win for Bayer 04 and Roger Schmidt. Thanks to the goals from Turkey internationals Omer Toprak and Hakan Calhanoglu, who scored a brace, the Werkself was successful at the restart. A significant win to maintain the positive mood from the winter training camp and to launch project catch up." The specialist magazine also expressed great praise for a returnee: "The coach can be happy with the comeback of Karim Bellarabi. The dribbler played a big part in the best Leverkusen phase in the game and showed what value he can have."

The Kölner Stadt Anzeiger declares: "The Werkself beat the third in the table team 3-1 to end a below par first half of the season on a high." With reference to the penalty and goalscorer Hakan Calhanoglu the newspaper says: "The Turkey international helped create the first goal and scored the second himself… It was particularly impressive how he scored the decisive goal to make it 3-1.

' This victory hits the spot' is the headline in the Bild Zeitung that explains the scenes after the 1-0 lead: "12th minute: Toprak opened the scoring after a Calhanoglu free kick. The Bayer pros run to the corner flag, former circle and sprinkle grass on the turf – like a chef salting his food. A nod to Toprak's Turkish fellow countryman and Instagram star Nusret Gökce (32) who salts meat, in particular, in a very elegant manner."

The Cologne-based Express says: "A brace from Bayer's trick-shot artist and a comfortable 3-1 win against Berlin. Bayer were on fire." Bernd Leno produced a "super save to keep out a great chance for Ibisevic," who was "otherwise underemployed." Ömer Toprak earned the title of "boss of the defence" in the Express and Hakan Calhanoglu was the "best attacking player.”

The Rheinische Post describes the best phase for the Werkself immediately after the restart: "The hosts dominated proceedings on the pitch after the break. However, as the Werkself initially failed to seal the result, the match remained exciting up to the final minutes. Bayer have to thank goalkeeper Bernd Leno who pulled off a great save to prevent an almost certain goal from Berlin's captain Vedad Ibisevic (73'). The encounter was concluded by the man of the match. After great work from Kevin Kampl, it was Hakan Calhanoglu who volleyed the ball into the net on 88 minutes.