German media reacts to Liverpool thrashing Bayer Leverkusen and singles out Granit Xhaka comments

Members of the German media who were present at Anfield on Tuesday night

The Reds were not at their best for the first 45 minutes but to the season.

scored a hat-trick while also registered, and this is what the German press made of the match. said: "Bayer saw this match as a definite endurance test, a class above the previous games won against Feyenoord and AC Milan - as they say in Liverpool: 'This is Anfield. This means more'.

"The test result after 90 plus three minutes was not a good one. Bayer only held out for an hour, then the German champions were more or less overrun by a professionally aggressive Liverpool. The hosts ultimately celebrated a 4-0 victory, a little too high perhaps, but the unmistakable result also expressed the difference in class.

"On this evening, there was always a little too little of the possession football that made Bayer champions. The normally powerful (Victor) Boniface suffered from acute weakness in tackles; (Florian) Wirtz, the key figure in the attack, tried a lot but achieved little. Often he simply lacked the courage. He felt: This is Anfield."

wrote: "In the first half the spectators got an impression of why Alonso was at the top of Liverpool's list to succeed Jurgen Klopp in the summer. Bayer did not have any brilliant moments in the game, but with his surprising line-up, Alonso initially slowed down the dominant hosts - until what the former England professional Xhaka had warned about before the game happened. 'Playing here is a big challenge - especially when you shake up the crowd a bit,' said the Swiss.

"And indeed, the Liverpool fans encouraged their players more and more loudly in the second half. In the middle of this phase of pressure, Bayer made two major defensive lapses. After a pass from Curtis Jones, the entire defence was outmaneuvered and Diaz was free to go through, and the Colombian coolly slotted home. Gakpo headed the ball in to make it 2-0 after a pass from Salah. Now Anfield was finally awake - and then the game was decided: Diaz scored two more goals shortly before the end to make it the final score."

said: "November 5 is a special day in England. The whole island celebrates what is known as Bonfire Night on this day - with lots of noise and fireworks. On this date in 1605 a group of conspirators attempted to blow up parliament and kill the King. But the assassination attempt failed. In Liverpool too, flares repeatedly lit up the grey sky above the port city on this Tuesday. In the thick of it all: the Bayer Leverkusen team.

"Arne Slot, Liverpool's coach since the summer, has had a good start to the season with his new team. The Reds are leading the Premier League table and have also won their first three games in the Champions League. However, he could not be satisfied with the first half against the German double winners - especially since the Dutchman likes to play in a more controlled manner than his predecessor Jurgen Klopp.

"In the second half, Liverpool were much more active, forcing Leverkusen to play backwards and causing them to lose the ball. They were able to celebrate for the first time when Luis Diaz crowned the Reds' phase of pressure with a lob to make it 1-0 after an outstanding pass from Jones. A little later, the ball was in Hradecky's goal again. Salah cross, Gakpo header - 2-0.

"In the closing stages, there were a few more chances for both sides. However, only Diaz was able to take advantage of them to make it 3-0, and in injury-time the man of the evening even made it 4-0. The victory against the factory club means that Liverpool's record against German clubs in England remains flawless. After 20 home games, they now have 16 wins and four draws."