16th matchday
Schick hat trick in starting eleven comeback – Bayer breaks record
Patrik Schick celebrates after his goal to make it 2-0. photo
© Marius Becker/dpa
Hamburger SV held this record for 41 years: 24 games from the start of the season without losing a competitive game. Bayer Leverkusen has now broken him. On Wednesday mainly thanks to Patrik Schick.
Bayer Leverkusen has a fantastic starting eleven comeback Patrik Schick improved Hamburger SV’s more than 40-year-old record and went into the new year without a single defeat.
Led by the outstanding hat-trick scorer Schick, the Werkself, who had already been declared Christmas champions of the Bundesliga before the game, defeated VfL Bochum 4-0 (3-0) to end the year. The 25 competitive games since the start of the season without losing a competitive game are a German record. So far, it has not been held by series champions FC Bayern Munich, but by HSV since the 1982/83 season.
The man of the day was Schick, who scored all the goals before half-time in his first starting eleven appearance in the Bundesliga for more than 14 months. First he converted a self-imposed penalty with a penalty kick (30th minute), less than two minutes later he scored in goalscoring style, then with a header after a corner kick (45th + 1). Victor Boniface, who came on for Schick, added two minutes after being substituted on (69′).
League leaders at Christmas
Leverkusen wintered as league leaders for the fourth time after 1993, 2001 and 2009, but Bayer has never been champion. The lead over FC Bayern, who still has the catch-up game against Union Berlin in hand, is four points. The Bochum team, who inflicted Leverkusen’s last defeat to date with a 3-0 win on the last matchday of the preseason, go into the winter break with a comfortable six points lead over the relegation place.
Alonso was practically rehearsing for an emergency and left all five players he will be missing in January because of the Africa Cup of Nations on the bench at kick-off. The Bochum fans fired off pyrotechnics as the team arrived. Referee Daniel Schlager had to interrupt the game after around a minute and a half. After a break of around two minutes we continued.
The Bochum team were initially good in the game and had the first chance of the game through Christopher Antwi-Adjei (10th). The hosts, who had changed a total of four positions, needed a while to find their way against the surprisingly courageous and at the same time well-organized outsiders.
Penalty brings Leverkusen into the game
In the 28th minute the score was 4-1 on goal and 2-0 from corners for Bochum when one scene turned everything on its head: Schick was sent steeply by Florian Wirtz and put the ball past VfL keeper Manuel Riemann. Riemann tried everything not to touch the Czech international, pulled his arms back, but the penalty was still justifiable. Schick converted against penalty specialist Riemann.
Bochum was now shocked, Leverkusen played in their usual manner. Riemann held off Jeremie Frimpong (34th) and Jonas Hofmann (42nd) before the break, and Alejandro Grimaldo shot from seven meters over the goal left by Riemann after a counterattack (43rd). Thanks to Schick, the game was still decided before the break.
Ten minutes after the break, Schick almost scored his fourth goal. Riemann prevented this with a foot defense. Robert Andrich scored with a header, but the goal was disallowed due to Wirtz being offside (62′). After 66 minutes, Schick was allowed off the field. Apparently there wasn’t enough strength for 90 minutes. But his replacement Boniface scored promptly.