Werkself review #B04SCF: Brilliant display ends historic Bayer 04 year

Summary: Goals galore in second 45

After a minute's silence for the victims and injured in the shocking attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg the day before, the Werkself were first out of the blocks and had a double chance early on (7'). But SCF had more of the game as it progressed with Philipp Lienhart hitting the crossbar after eleven minutes. The best chance in the first half fell to Florian Wirtz from the penalty spot but the SCF keeper Noah Atubolo made a good save (33'). It looked like the first half would ended goalless – until Patrik Schick converted a perfectly timed pass from Wirtz with a lob to make it 1-0 (45+1'). Wirtz doubled the lead six minutes after the restart with a well-struck shot but Freiburg's Vincenzo Grifo hit back to make it 2-1 (56'). Schick restored the two-goal lead with his second strike of the night on 67 minutes. The Czechia international then netted two more goals (75', 77') for the final score of 5-1. HERE is the match report.

Reaction: "Over the moon to be here in Leverkusen"

Four-goal hero Patrik Schick said after the game: "It's obviously very special to score four times. The goals were good and really please me but apart from that I can still play even better." The 28-year-old described the previous weeks as follows: "We've got back to where we had to be in our recent matches. We're scoring the goals and are more solid at the back. That's how we want to carry on." Granit Xhaka said: "We played a very good team who competed well one-on-one. But we were very dominant on and off the ball so it was completely deserved overall. Things are going really well for us again. A great finish to a great year. I'm over the moon to be here in Leverkusen."

Head coach Xabi Alonso, who picked up his 50th win in 75 Bundesliga matches, summed up the evening as follows: "The result was perhaps spectacular and there were four goals for Patrik. But the game wasn’t as easy as it sounds. We showed a great reaction after conceding and were very efficient during that phase. The whole team was on top of their game today and that makes us feel good. We have great ambition to carry on battling for our targets in 2025 and we want to achieve a lot together."

What the papers say: "Bayer crown fantastic year with goal fest"

The headline in the Bild am Sonntag reads, “Schick! Schick! Schick! Schick!,” with the paper also reporting a "Bayer extravaganza." The Rheinische Post awarded top marks to Granit Xhaka, Florian Wirtz and Patrik Schick. And the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung declares "Bayer crown fantastic year with goal fest," while the RP also talks about "outstanding" performances from Schick and Wirtz. The kicker sports journal describes the performance by Wirtz as a "feast for sore eyes."

Personnel: Hincapie contract extensaion - Duo in select Bundesliga group

The first good news of the day came before the match: Bayer 04 announced the contract extension for Piero Hincapie that keeps him at the BayArena to 2029 – to the evident pleasure of the fans who greeted the announcement by chanting 'Hincapie'.

In addition, a Werkself duo are now in a select group at the end of the year: Lukas Hradecky and Robert Andrich are two of only five players to play at least 30 Bundesliga matches without defeat in a calendar year. Hradecky was not in the squad for the only Leverkusen league defeat in 2024 (a 3-2 loss at RB Leipzig on Matchday 2 2024/25), Andrich was on the bench for the 90 minutes. This group also includes Holger Hieronymus (1982/34 games), Ditmar Jakobs (1982/33) and Manuel Neuer (2013/30). Hradecky played 31 Bundesliga matches without losing in 2024, Andrich 30.

Stats: Schick's impressive returns

The main performer on the night was definitely Patrik Schick. The Czechia international is now the top Leverkusen scorer in the current Bundesliga campaign with nine goals and the strike to make it 3-1 was his 50th Bundesliga goal for Bayer 04. Following on from the home game against Greuther Fürth in December 2017 (7-1), it is the second time the 28-year-old has netted four goals in a Bundesliga fixture – no other Werkself player has achieved that. It is the first four-goal haul in the league in 2024/25.

Florian Wirtz made a significant contribution to Schick's goals in recent weeks. His last six assists in the Bundesliga were all for Schick. Wirtz has now set up 16 league goals for the Czech striker – more than for any other player. You can call that a well-tuned duo...

Outlook: Friendly followed by league start at Dortmund

2024 is over for Bayer 04 on the pitch and now there is a well-deserved but short winter break. After New Year, there is a friendly against Rot-Weiß Oberhausen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 5 January (kick-off: 12.00 CET). The first competitive match of 2025 for the Werkself is away to Borussia Dortmund on Friday, 10 January (kick-off: 20.30 CET).