Hat trick, unbeaten record, top spot: Leverkusen stays 4 points clear of Bayern for Bundesliga break
BERLIN (AP) — Patrik Schick celebrated his first Bundesliga start of the season Wednesday with a hat trick as Bayer Leverkusen consolidated the top spot and set a record for games unbeaten with a 4-0 rout of Bochum.
Leverkusen stretched its unbeaten start to the season to 25 games across all competitions, beating the German record of 24 games without defeat set by Hamburger SV at the start of the 1982-83 season.
Hamburg’s record stood at the time as 14 wins and 10 draws before a 2-1 loss at Hertha Berlin in the third round of the German Cup.
Leverkusen, meanwhile, has romped to 22 wins and three draws since the season began.
The team’s win over Bochum kept it four points clear of 11-time defending champion Bayern Munich going into the winter break, though Bayern has a game in hand.
Jamal Musiala scored in his 100th Bundesliga game for Bayern and Harry Kane got his 21st goal of the season for a 2-1 win at Wolfsburg.
LEVERKUSEN FLYING
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso opted to start with Schick in place of Victor Boniface for the first time in a Bundesliga game this season, and the move paid off with the Czech forward grabbing a first-half hat trick.
Schick opened the scoring with a penalty on the half-hour mark, converted Jeremie Frimpong’s cross for his second two minutes later, then headed his third from Álex Grimaldo’s corner before the break.
Boniface, whom Leverkusen will be without when Nigeria is playing at the African Cup of Nations next month, went on for Schick in the 67th and scored his 10th league goal of the season two minutes after that.
MUSIALA MILESTONE
Musiala became the youngest player to clock 100 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern and the 20-year-old celebrated in Wolfsburg by heading the opener in the 33rd.
Kane made it 2-0 ten minutes later with a brilliant strike from outside the penalty area that curled inside the top right corner.
Maximilian Arnold took note, and pulled one back for Wolfsburg with a similar effort before the break.
STUTTGART UP TO THIRD
Stuttgart capitalized on Leipzig’s draw the day before to move one spot to third with a 3-0 win over Augsburg.
Also, both Eintracht Frankfurt and Heidenheim scored stoppage-time goals to beat 10-man Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 and Freiburg 3-2, respectively.
TWENTY-SIXTH TIME LUCKY
Union Berlin forward David Datro Fofana finally scored his first Bundesliga goal to seal a 2-0 win over relegation rival Cologne.
Fofana sank to knees after scoring with his 26th attempt at goal this season and covered his head as teammates jumped in to congratulate him under beer showers thrown by the Union fans behind.
Benedict Hollerbach had opened the scoring in the 56th, rifling the ball in from a narrow angle after going past a Cologne defender.
The game kicked off to an uncanny quiet as fans continued their protests against the German soccer league ’s plan to bring in an outside investor. The supporters stayed mostly quiet for the first 12 minutes — referring to their role as the proverbial 12th man on a soccer team — then announced their presence with a chant containing an expletive against the DFL, as the league is known.
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