What the papers say: 'You can’t do more than go through'

The headline in the Bild am Sonntag reads, 'Super sub Bailey saves the day' and reports: "Sometimes it's better to give yourself a present. Leon Bailey was 22 on Friday. Leverkusen's Jamaican scored seconds after coming off the bench on 72 minutes with a lob to make it 3-1 at Alemannia Aachen. Bailey's goal saved the day for the favourites."

The Cologne newspaper Express focuses on the scorer of the last goal. "The prodigal son rounds it off," was the headline. The text follows: "The first round clash between Aachen and Leverkusen in the DFB Cup was special as Kai Havertz was born in Aachen. And it's one of those stories you only find in football: On 88 minutes, the Leverkusen star scored with a low drive to make it 4-1 for the Werkself at the Tivoli. 'It was a bit tough at the start. In the end we ran out comfortable winners. That's all that counts,' said Bayer sporting managing director Rudi Völler."

The online edition of the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger assesses the action as follows: "Bayer 04 Leverkusen are through to the second round of the DFB Cup after a 4-1 win against Regional League Alemannia Aachen. An outstanding performance was not required on Saturday afternoon. And it seems rather doubtful if that would have been possible on the day. But you can’t do more than go through." Kai Havertz was named man of the match: "Pressed hard by close-marking opponents, the international player found it difficult to get into the game but he never gave up, was not rewarded with a penalty after he was fouled in the box, was unable to beat the outstanding keeper Cymer until he was able to round off the scoring at 4-1. He deserved that."

The Rheinische Post comes the following conclusion: "Bayer 04 Leverkusen are through to the second round of the DFB Cup. The Werkself ran out with a deserved 4-1 win at Regional League Alemannia Aachen on Saturday afternoon despite a short weak phase in the second half... Spurred on by the 30,861 spectators at a sold-out Tivoli, the hosts got stuck in straightaway, went into challenges up to the limits of the permissible and sometimes beyond that. That was dished out to players including the Aachen-born Kai Havertz and Charles Aránguiz. The Werkself played their possession game evident from last season but did not give anything away late on."

The Aachener Zeitung sums up the great atmosphere at the Tivoli and the resolute resistance of the hosts as follows: 'Aachen lose and are still winners.' The report continues: "Lost and still celebrating: Long after the final whistle, the Alemannia Aachen players were still doing their lap of honour at the Tivoli. The fans celebrated even if the 4-1 loss for the Black and Yellows against Bayer Leverkusen means going out of the DFB Cup. In spite of the defeat, the Regional League side Aachen were the winners – in terms of self-promotion."

The Kicker comes straight to the point: "Fourth division Alemannia Aachen put up a great fight against the Bundesliga team Bayer Leverkusen but had to settle with a 4-1 defeat in the end. An unfortunate own goal started the reverse at the Tivoli."