The online report in the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger expresses enthusiasm for this derby: “Wonderful afternoon of football with a result worthy of Solomon in spite of a shots on goal difference of 27 to 7 in favour of Bayer 04.” And the Anzeiger names a man-of-the-match: “Stefan Kießling, as he represented more than anyone else the refusal to accept defeat in this derby with FC Köln.”
The Sonntags Express provides a match report and also describes the activity of the fans ahead of the derby: “The Leverkusen team bus arrived at the BayArena before the game surrounded by fans. The derby atmosphere was evident an hour before kick-off. The Bayer supporters provided a guard of honour to show their backing for the team. ‘That was an amazing entry to the stadium,’ said coach Tayfun Korkut.”
Bild am Sonntag highlights the Werkself fight back to turn round a two-goal deficit: “Leverkusen came back into it. Kießling gave his team-mates renewed hope with his first derby goal in eight years. And Korkut then pulled off a smart move in a home game. He brought on the Finn Joel Pohjanpalo - who scored 171 seconds later to make it 2-2.”
The online edition of the Rheinische Post describes the relief of tension unleashed at Bayer 04 after the derby: “There were numerous emotional scenes in the basement of the BayArena after the final whistle in the sixtieth Rhine derby. Sporting director Rudi Völler planted a kiss on Stefan Kießling’s cheek, the Werkself players gave each other high-fives and there was lots of laughter - even though the current campaign must been seen as a massive disappointment. Bayer 04 are staying up after the 2-2 draw with Köln. The absolute minimum target of the past few weeks has been achieved but it did require a show of strength against the rivals. … .We were in a dangerous situation,' said Rudi Völler. ‘We would have been in the thick of it if we’d have lost.’ The committed performance of the team is more praiseworthy in spite of going 2-0 down.”
The Kicker match report identified the 2-0 as a turning point rather than settling the result: “As, on the one hand, Köln looked more and more passive while Bayer suddenly looked relaxed and on the front foot in the certainty they had nothing more to lose - and they drew level at 2-2 within eleven minutes: First, Kießling pulled a goal back with a header before Pohjanpalo, the substitute for Chicharito, netted the equaliser with a header in his first involvement. The Werkself then put their foot on the break in the knowledge the draw would keep them up.”
