#B04SGF review: Schick’s special catch

SUMMARY: EARLY LEAD, EXTENDED AGAIN AND AGAIN

The Werkself once again lived up to their reputation as the league team first out of the blocks. Leverkusen were already leading the way with nine goals in the opening 15 minutes and now Amine Adli has added another with his open on 12 minutes. The second goal from a header by Edmond Tapsoba (17') just missed being entered in that category. Fürth did pull a goal back through Jeremy Dudziak on the half-hour mark but Piero Hincapie restored the two-goal lead at 3-1 just before half-time.

After the restart, the Werkself did not need any time to get warmed up before taking their opponents apart in less than half an hour. Patrik Schick made it 4-1 four minutes into the second half and then added three goals up to the 76th minute. 04 goals in 27 minutes – the only player in the history of the Bundesliga faster than the Czech was Robert Lewandowski with his five goals in less than nine minutes against Wolfsburg in 2015. HERE is the match report.

REACTION: "VERY EFFECTIVE AND CLINICAL"

On a rainy afternoon, Patrik Schick created his own good mood with a 'ketchup song'. "First, nothing comes out," he said referring to his first half with few chances on goal, "and then it all comes out at once." The Man of the Match did not forget to mention the brilliant contribution of teammates Piero Hincapie, Moussa Diaby, Karim Bellarabi and Florian Wirtz: "I had great support so it wasn't difficult to score the goals."

Coach Gerardo Seoane stressed the importance of a genuine goalscoring striker for the balance and penetration of his team. "We've always stressed that we need a centre forward like Patrik Schick or Lucas Alario to pin down the opposition central defenders. That enables our midfield to express themselves better," said the Swiss coach and he also commented on the game: "We made it 3-1 at the right time after an evenly matched first half. Overall, seven goals from 13 shots shows how very effective and clinical we are."

PERSONNEL: DEMIRBAY TO SCHICK, THAT WORKS TOO

The choice of Man of the Match did not require a vote this time: Patrik Schick goes into the history books as the first Bayer 04 player to score four goals in a Bundesliga fixture. "The record feels great. I would have been happy with a hat-trick but four is obviously really okay," declared the 25-year-old with a mischievous smile. And, as befits such an exceptionally successful day at work, the goal-getter seized the match ball as a trophy for his own four walls. The assist for that catch goes down to Kerem Demirbay who threw the ball to Schick when referee Tobias Reichel blew for full-time.

STATS: A WIN FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS

It was an afternoon of records at the BayArena. In addition to the 04 excellent arguments from Patrik Schick, the 7-1 victory against SpVgg Greuther Fürth is also the biggest Bundesliga home win of all time for the Werkself. The previous best at home was a 6-0 win against FC Kaiserslautern on 10 April 2004.

In terms of the game, the Werkself were also ahead in all other relevant categories in addition to the result: with shots on goal (13-8), possession (60 – 40%) as well as challenges (58 – 42%) as well as the pass completion rate (85 – 75%).

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY: "FANS SING PRAISES OF THEIR HEROES"

Patrik Schick is also the focus of attention in the media. "Leverkusen have had great strikers in the past. However, neither Ulf Kirsten nor Rudi Völler or Stefan Kießling achieved what Patrik Schick has managed," reports the Bild am Sonntag. The Express refers to a "crazy Schick show", the online edition of the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reports: "The 10,000 Bayer fans sang the praises of their heroes under their masks. Rightly so."

The online edition of the Rheinische Post also refers to the celebrating fans: "After it was 5-1, the Werkself supporters sang 'let's have another one, another one in the net – and the prophecy actually came true." The Welt am Sonntag refers to the historically poor run for Fürth: "Twelve defeats in succession – that's never happened in the Bundesliga before now."

OUTLOOK: VIA BUDAPEST TO FRANKFURT

After the highlight in the Bundesliga, the Werkself now have two double fixture weeks up to the winter break. Bayer 04 have the final group match in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, 9 December at 21.00 CET away to Ferencváros. As Leverkusen are already confirmed as group winners and through to the Round of 16, coach Gerardo Seoane will be able to rotate at will in Hungary. That is followed three days later by the game for the Black and Reds on Bundesliga matchday 15 on Sunday, 12 December at 17.30 CET away to Eintracht Frankfurt. The Bundesliga fixtures against TSG Hoffenheim at the BayArena on Wednesday, 12 December (kick-off: 20.30 CET) plus away to Sport Club Freiburg on Sunday, 19 December (kick-off: 15.30 CET) complete the matches in 2021.