What the papers say: 'This illuminating encounter'

The Welt am Sonntag headline reads "TSG win with a poacher's goal" and writes: "The visitors were not intimidated by Hoffenheim's first chance: Brandt and Bellarabi tested TSG keeper Baumann with low shots, Mehmedi missed the target with a header. The second half was significantly more intense. That fitted in with the goal: Wagner poked the ball from close range in the direction of Leno who deflected it with his foot – into his own net (61')."

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung view, under the headline "Lucky once", is: "In an excellent Bundesliga game it was a total surprise that no goals were scored in the first half. 14 goalscoring opportunities lit up this illuminating encounter. The fact that neither side could convert their chances was down to the two keepers Baumann and Leno. After the break, the latter was the unlucky man when he helped the Hoffenheim central striker Wagner to his eleventh goal of the season by deflecting the Bavarian shot into the net with his foot."

The Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel also highlighted the impressive quality of the game: "From the kick-off, both teams showed their class and created lots of chances. Leverkusen initially had the upper hand: Korkut's team retained the ball better and they could have taken the lead in the opening stages of the game through Admir Mehmedi, Karim Bellarabi and Kevin Kampl."

The Bild am Sonntag quoted the words of Rudi Völler after the game: "We have to look behind us in the table. Everything is racing past us. I just said in the dressing room: Now we have to go all out against Wolfsburg. The pressure's on. We've brought it on ourselves."

The Cologne-based Express also focuses on the only goal of the game: "And Leno? Bayer's international keeper, with another outstanding performance in spite of a face mask, was desperately unlucky. 'It all happened so quick,' he said in summing up the moment, 'somehow he pushed it past me and then I got to the ball and deflected it. We were incredibly unlucky in the game.'"

The online edition of the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger describes the positive elements in Leverkusen's game: "Organisation in Leverkusen's game. But only for one half. For the first time, the interim coach Tayfun Korkut fielded his team in a 4-4-2 formation with Mehmedi and Volland up front. That worked well. The midfield won the ball to create chances. It would have been a great step forward if one of them had been converted and the good plan could have lasted longer than 45 minutes."

And the online report in the Rheinische Post describes the impressive phase of the game for the Werkself just before the half-time break: "After Leverkusen survived the first attack from the hosts, the Korkut team then created their own good chances. After an impressive ball from Kevin Volland it was Karim Bellarabi who first seriously tested the TSG keeper Oliver Baumann (11'). Two minutes later, a cross from Roberto Hilbert found Admir Mehmedi unmarked in front of the opposition goal but the Swiss headed just wide. Leverkusen became increasingly stronger and creative further good chances through Bellarabi and Kampl (22', 23'). However, a Hoffenheim defender was in the way to block the shots."

And finally, the Kicker reports: "The waiting goes on. Leverkusen are still without a win under Tayfun Korkut. The 1-1 draw in his first game and the goalless draw at Atletico Madrid was followed on Saturday by a 1-0 defeat at Hoffenheim. Bayer again looked good but in the end it was not enough. In spite of that, Korkut did not have any criticism of his players.' We played an almost perfect first half. The only thing missing was a goal,' said the coach after the game.”