What the papers say: ‘One of the toughest teams on the continent’

The Ruhr Nachrichten describes the start of the match: "Bayer 04 began bravely and tried to make headway up front. But that did not last long. The ball was in the back of the Leverkusen net on 17 minutes. Saul Niguel danced down the right like Arjen Robben before slotting the ball away with the care a mother shows her newborn baby – 1-0 for last year's finalists."

The WAZ praises Bernd Leno: "It got even worse for the hosts: Aleksandar Dragovic allowed Kevin Gameiro to pinch the ball. His pass found Antoine Griezmann and he made it 2-0 on 25 minutes. Bayer almost conceded a third goal before the break: But Leno saved from Griezmann on 35 minutes."

The Rheinische Post writes: "There was renewed hope for Bayer 04 fans after the restart. Karim Bellarabi converted a cross from Henrichs – who will miss the second leg due to suspension – to make the score 2-1." And when Gameiro scored from the penalty spot to make it 3-1, the daily paper identified a great response from the Werkself: "The hosts refused to give up. And soon it was 3-2 after an own goal from Stefan Savic - and the Werkself attacked once more. Chicharito missed the best chance of an equaliser for Bayer on 81 minutes."

The Bild report highlights an incredibly exciting finish: "Suddenly an equaliser was in the air and the arena shook. But it came as no surprise that another counter-attack by Atlético destroyed the Leverkusen dreams. This time it was Fernando Torres who scored." The tabloid quoted Karim Bellarabi: " 'We know exactly how difficult the situation is. But we'll do our best in the second leg,' said Bayer goalscorer Bellarabi."

The Kölnische Rundschau already looks forward to the return match in Madrid on 15 March:
"Bayer will have to turn the world of football upside down to put things right in the second leg.' We didn't play at all well in the first half. We almost invited Atlético to hit us on the break,' said defender Ömer Toprak:' The second half was better but unfortunately it's not a good result at all. It will be very, very difficult in the return match but we'll give it a go.' At the same time, it's true to say the eighth-placed team in the Bundesliga appeared to be ready to take on one of the toughest teams on the continent.