Sami Hyypia happy despite defeat to Schalke

Bayer Leverkusen head coach Sami Hyypia has insisted that he is "happy" with how his side performed during Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Schalke 04.

Leverkusen suffered their second home defeat in the space of three days to fall 16 points behind runaway league leaders Bayern Munich, while the gap to third place was reduced to just one point courtesy of Borussia Dortmund's win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Hyypia's side host Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, and the 40-year-old insists that he would be content with a repeat performance despite not getting the victory.

"I'm very happy with the way the team played today. It was a big improvement from Wednesday," Hyypia told the Bundesliga's official website, referring to the team's cup defeat to Kaiserslautern.

"If we play like this on Tuesday, then I'll be happy too. The team showed character and we were just unlucky today. I feel for the team."

Bayer's next Bundesliga outing comes on Saturday as they travel to face fifth-placed Wolfsburg.