What the papers say: 'The victory as redemption'

Under the headline, 'Werkself can breathe again',  the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger sums the game up as follows: "The Leverkusen fans had two reasons to celebrate at the final whistle. On the one hand, their team wrested a 2-0 win from the utterly disappointing bottom-of-the-table VfB Stuttgart and moved up into mid-table. On the other hand, there was great relief that the lack of goals at an icy BayArena had come to an end. Kevin Volland secured three points for his team with two late goals."

The fact Leverkusen can breathe a sigh of relief is explained by the Express as follows: "Leverkusen collectively celebrated redemption with fifteen minutes to play. From a quick corner, Kai Havertz chipped the ball onto the head of Kevin Volland, who put Bayer on course for victory late on. And he soon added a second. 2-0, relief for Bayer. Up to then it had been a rather tough night."

The Rheinische Post not only saw the result as highly deserved but also the expression of a clear superiority for the Werkself: "The 24,632 fans at the BayArena were treated to the same in the second half: Leverkusen were lively, Stuttgart sat back. Nevertheless, Mario Gomez showed VfB still posed a threat in attack when he tested the Bayer keeper Lukas Hradecky on 52 minutes. Volland then provided deserved relief with the opening goal. Fifteen minutes after the striker missed an open goal, he was on the right spot on 76 minutes to head the ball into the net from a Havertz cross to make it 1-0. On 83 minutes, he settled the result with his second goal of the night."

Bild summed up the 2-0 win in a nutshell, "Relief for Leverkusen" and then adds: "Gap to play-off spot extended to five points. Redemption for Leverkusen - thanks to Kevin Volland."

The report in the Kölnische Rundschau recounts the relief for the coach: "At least Herrlich is spared further adversity in the week before his 47th birthday. The 2-0 home win against bottom club VfB Stuttgart on Friday night saw Bayer ... avoid the risk of falling further down the table and, thanks to a brace from Kevin Volland, take the anticipated first step towards a better future."

And finally, the Stuttgarter Zeitung headline 'Stuttgart slowcoaches and match-winner Volland' does not say much for VfB: "One shot here, a half chance there - VfB put in a shift at Leverkusen and competed for much of the game but never really threatened the home team. Bayer 04 Leverkusen only needed to up their game in the final 25 minutes to take all three points."