Xabi Alonso was right. Bayer Leverkusen had just won the Bundesliga with an almost testimonial role from Patrik Schick, a decision had to be made about the future of the Czech Republic striker and today it could be said that it was the right one. The good performance of the Nigerian Victor Boniface meant that the player’s presence in the aspirin team was questioned and even more so with his contract that expires in June 2027. A decision to keep the forward that now brings Bayer Leverkusen closer to one point behind Bayern of Munich, leader of the Bundesliga.
An almost round match
There were probably still people tuning in to the game when Nathan Tella decided it was a good time to score, probably, the goal of the day. 26 seconds into the match he was going to unleash a shot on the edge of the rival area at Signal Iduna Park to make clear the intentions of the current Bundesliga champion. Xabi Alonso’s men dealt the first of the three blows that they were going to end up giving that same night.
The fashion forward at Bayer Leverkusen who is close to taking the lead from Bayern MunichAP
And although the Nigerian international opened the season, Patrik Schick was the footballer who stole the spotlight. The forward from the Czech Republic once again brought out all his resources to take advantage of the defensive vulnerability that Borussia Dortmund showed during the first 20 minutes of the match to score a double, first a goal from the far post and then taking advantage of a cross from Frimpong. A performance that could have been a hat-trick if in the 19th minute he had taken advantage of another cross from Jeremie Frimpong to make the score 1-4.
The match ended with a score of 2-3 and with Patrik Schick replaced by Florian Wirtz in the 63rd minute of the match. A change that earned him applause from his fans who had come to the Borussia Dortmund temple and who appreciated the striker’s great performance.
If I managed to make it 1-4… my game would have been even better
Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick
Patrik Schick ‘returns’
“Whenever I play, I’m ready to score. I’m proud to be able to help the team, like I did today with my two goals. Of course, that’s good, but I could have even made it 1-4 and it would have been even better,” he said. Schick himself in the club’s official media after the match at Signal Iduna Park. Some words that wonderfully reflect the great form of a player who has scored in two consecutive games.
Records that do not stop there and have a much deeper and more conscientious analysis. Two goals that bring him closer to Harry Kane (14) and Omar Marmoush (13) in the Bundesliga top scorer’s table with 11 goals. In fact, since Bayer Leverkusen returned from the November break, 11 of the 26 goals the team has scored in all official competitions have been scored by the Czech. A tank forward who had to be bet on at the beginning of the season after a series of injuries in 2022/23, a discreet year in 2023/24 and with the hope of recovering the striker’s 24 goals in 31 games in the 2021/22. A decision that ended up giving the ‘Czech lion’ the goal back.
