Patrik Schick’s hat-trick fires Bayer Leverkusen one step closer to Champions League football with win over RB Leipzig

Patrik Schick scored a hat-trick as Bayer Leverkusen beat RB Leipzig 4-1 at the BayArena on Matchday 32, a result which sees them jump into fourth with two games left to play.

Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 RB Leipzig
Goals: 1-0 Send 25′ (assist: Tella), 2-0 Tella 45+1′ (assist: García), 3-0 Schick 76‘ (assist: Maza), 3-1 Baumgartner 80′ (assist: Gruda), 4-1 Schick 89‘ (assist: Grimaldo)

This Matchday 32 clash at the BayArena carried significant Champions League implications for both sides. Kasper Hjulmand’s side welcomed back Mark Flekken in goal in place of Janis Blaswich, whilst Ole Werner’s Leipzig arrived on a five-match winning streak, making one change with Nicolas Seiwald coming in for Assan Ouédraogo. A win for the visitors would have secured their Champions League qualification.

Kasper Hjulmand’s side pulled off a masterclass in their hunt for Champions League football. – IMAGO/Celina Leaders

Schick opens the scoring

Leverkusen set the tempo from the off, pressing Leipzig high and creating early chances. Patrik Schick’s third-minute effort was blocked, with Ibrahim Maza’s follow-up also repelled. Leipzig threatened on the counter through Rômulo, whose effort went narrowly wide, before Antonio Nusa tested Flekken with a right-footed effort in the ninth minute.

Leipzig came close in the 17th minute when Rômulo’s shot was cleared off the line by Aleix García. The opener arrived in the 25th minute, when Flekken launched a quick counter, finding Nathan Tella deep in the Leipzig half. Tella fed Maza, who rturned the ball to Tella on the right side of the area. Tella then cut it back to the onrushing Schick, who slid the ball home from close range to make it 1-0.

Schick finished off a brilliant team move to get Leverkusen off to a flying start. – IMAGO/Mika Volkmann

Tella doubles the lead

Leverkusen continued to press for a second. In the 31st minute, Tella’s shot was well saved by Maarten Vandevoordt, with Schick’s follow-up blocked on the line by El Chadaille Bitshiabu. Jarell Quansah headed wide from a corner shortly after.

Leipzig grew into the game in the final ten minutes of the half, with Finkgräfe testing Flekken twice from distance. However, it was Leverkusen who struck again just before the break: García swung in a deep cross from the right flank, and Tella was on hand to side-foot home from close range, making it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time.

Nathan Tella’s first time finish gave Leipzig work to do, and gave his side some breathing space going into the break. – IMAGO/Mika Volkmann

Leipzig push back

Ole Werner made two changes at the interval, introducing Castello Lukeba for Bitshiabu and Brajan Gruda for Nusa. Leipzig started the second half with greater urgency, with Yan Diomande bending an effort over the bar and Rômulo forcing a save from Flekken.

Christoph Baumgartner also had a header blocked from a corner. Leverkusen responded with a chance of their own in the 53rd minute, when Schick’s effort was well saved by Vandevoordt. Werner made further changes at the 65th minute, bringing on Ouédraogo for Seiwald and Conrad Harder for Rômulo in an attempt to find a way back into the match.

Rômulo was powerless to stop his side slipping to defeat, with the Leverkusen defence keeping him very quiet. – IMAGO/Ines Hähnel

Schick seals it with a hat-trick

Schick had a golden opportunity to make it 3-0 in the 74th minute but poked the ball wide when clean through on goal, and Alejandro Grimaldo’s free-kick from a central position struck the roof of the net. However, Schick made no mistake in the 76th minute: Maza drove through midfield and slipped the ball through to Schick, who calmly slotted into the bottom corner past Vandevoordt.

Ernest Poku and Arthur came on for Tella and Culbreath in the 77th minute and Leipzig pulled one back not long after in the 80th minute when Gruda’s cross from the left found Baumgartner at the back post, who headed back across goal into the far corner. Schick completed his hat-trick in the 89th minute, latching onto Grimaldo’s through ball and sliding the ball past Vandevoordt, though the goal was initially flagged for offside before VAR confirmed it stood.

Schick put the icing on the cake with just moments left to play. – IMAGO/pepphoto / Horst Mauelshagen

Man of the Match: Patrik Schick

Patrik Schick earned the Man of the Match award with 74 per cent of the vote. Schick scored three goals and had nine shots in total – more than any other player on the pitch.

His first was a composed slide finish from close range, his second a clinical finish after a driving run from Maza, and his third – confirmed by VAR after an initial offside flag – completed his hat-trick. It was his fifth brace or better of the season in the Bundesliga.

Schick clinical performance gave his team a huge boost in their quest for Champions League football. – IMAGO/pepphoto / Horst Mauelshagen

Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Leverkusen 3.63 – Leipzig 1.29
Fastest player: Antonio Nusa (Leipzig), 34.53 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 3-1 by Christoph Baumgartner (Leipzig), 16 percent
Most pressed player: Yan Diomande (Leipzig), 25 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Alejandro Grimaldo (Leverkusen), +4.94

Fantasy Heroes: Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen, 623 Points), Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen, 437 Points), Nathan Tella (Bayer Leverkusen, 321 Points)