Bayer Leverkusen were labelled "chokers" by the German media following their "penalty debacle" against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday which saw them eliminated from the Champions League.
The 2002 finalists had taken a 1-0 lead from the first leg into the round-of-16 second leg in the Spanish capital, but a Mario Suarez goal took the match to spot kicks.
Leverkusen, however, lost their nerve as Hakan Calhanoglu, Omer Toprak and Stefan Kiessling all missed penalties to send their side crashing out of the competition.
"Penalty chokers," read Bild's headline on Wednesday, with the newspaper stating that being thrown out of the Champions League by the reigning Spanish champions is "generally not a shame" but that missing three penalties turned it into just that.
Local tabloid Express referred to a "penalty debacle" and said that Suarez's 27th-minute goal gave an "unadventurous" Atletico the upper hand during the 120 minutes.
"Leverkusen's dream bursts at the penalty spot," Die Welt's headline read.
"The Bundesliga side created a good starting position with their 1-0 win in the first leg, but exited through a hesitant and luckless performance," the paper added.
Local paper Rheinische Post, meanwhile, noted that Atletico were the superior team in a modest match and looked beyond goings-on on the pitch.
RT @BILD_Bayer04: Champions-League-Aus - Bayer vergeigt im Elferschießen http://t.co/XwEWvgAnIA #ATMB04 pic.twitter.com/cVvJPTtjfQ
- BILD Bundesliga (@BILD_Bundesliga) March 17, 2015
"They were spurred on by the wild dances of [Diego] Simeone in the coaching zone and on the sidelines. And the fans also showed stamina and volume worthy of the highest stage in European football," the paper added.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung turned the spotlight on Kiessling. The Leverkusen attacker, recently demoted to reserve status, came off the bench and missed the final penalty in the shootout before bursting into tears.
"They fought with devotion and fell flat without luck," the paper said.
Suddeutsche Zeitung also looked at Kiessling and compared his and Toprak's misses to Uli Hoeness' famous 1976 European Championship final penalty for West Germany, which flew into the Belgrade night and handed Czechoslovakia the trophy.
"Just like Hoeness in Belgrade," the headline read, with the three opening paragraphs of the piece dedicated to the penalty shootout drama.
The paper also praised the support at the Vicente Calderon but added that, especially during the final phase, "the performance on the pitch was only distantly related to football," and that referee Nicola Rizzoli appeared to be "unable to cope" with the heated atmosphere.
Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt also felt the Vicente Calderon atmosphere played a part in his side's penalty shootout defeat.
"Penalty shootouts always have a bit to do with the nerves. And you need some experience for that. At home, a penalty shootout is a bit easier because you have the fans behind and not against you," Schmidt told his postmatch news conference. "But that we reached penalties was a remarkable effort. It's a shame the team could not reward itself."
Leverkusen sporting executive Rudi Voller added on Sky: "You can't forget an evening like that, but we need to keep our chins up. We want to return to this stage."