Werder Bremen 1-4 Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen marked their return to Bundesliga action with a brilliant 4-1 victory away at relegation-threatened Werder Bremen.
German wunderkind Kai Havertz led the Leverkusen attack as a false nine, and he flourished in the role as he scored twice in the first half.
The win sends Leverkusen just one point behind RB Leipzig, who dropped down to fourth place after a disappointing home draw against Freiburg.
As for Bremen, their Bundesliga 2020 results have now seen them lose six of their last seven matches as they look destined for the drop.
Highlights of the game
Despite the long break in play, Leverkusen were still without captain and top scorer Kevin Volland due to a serious ankle injury. In his absence, Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz decided to line up with Havertz at the tip of the attack.
That decision paid off just before the half-hour mark as Havertz opened the scoring for the away side.
Moussa Diaby blew by Bremen’s defence and delivered a brilliant cross from the right wing, and Havertz was on hand to score a classic-centre forward’s goal with a fine header.
But Leverkusen’s lead was short-lived as Werder Bremen hit back almost immediately. From a corner, defender Theodor Gebre Selassie’s deft touch with the back of his heel guided the ball past Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky.
However, Havertz would reestablish Leverkusen’s lead just three minutes later. The 20-year-old took advantage of some poor Bremen defending from a free-kick as he once again headed the ball past keeper Jiri Pavlenka.
Bremen had a brilliant chance to equalise once again on 39 minutes. Milos Veljkovic found Leonardo Bittencourt with a fine through ball, but the Bremen midfielder lost his composure at the crucial moment and skied his shot well over the goal.
Leverkusen would effectively seal their win just after the hour mark. Diaby got his second assist of the game as right-back Mitchell Weiser made it all the way to the six-yard box to meet Diaby’s cross and head home Leverkusen’s third goal.
Again, though, he was aided by some woeful Werder Bremen defending as no one got up to pick up Weiser and contest his header.
Bremen almost caught Leverkusen out again immediately after the goal. Davie Selke set up Maximilian Eggstein for a shot right at the edge of the box, but the Bremen midfielder couldn’t even get his weak attempt on target.
Havertz came close to a hat-trick after his attempt on 69 minutes was deflected and went just wide of the goal.
But Leverkusen would eventually add a fourth goal to wrap up their big win as Kerem Demirbay coolly chipped over Pavlenka.
Key statistics
The Bundesliga 2020 odds have Leverkusen pegged as significant favourites for this match, and they looked every bit as dominant as the 4-1 scoreline suggests. The controlled 63 per cent of possession and had a 6-1 edge in terms of shots on target.
Havertz’s brace now puts him at eight league goals for the season, one behind Volland for the team lead.
The long break has not slowed down the 20-year-old’s sizzling form in 2020. He’s now scored seven goals with five assists over his last nine matches in all competitions.
If Havertz can keep up that high level of play for the rest of the season, he might be set for a big-money move to one of the top European clubs in the summer.
Meanwhile, Bremen’s disastrous form continues. They have gone winless in their last seven Bundesliga matches (six losses, one draw) and have won just once in their last 12 (10 losses, one draw).
What’s next?
Werder Bremen will look to finally put an end to that long winless run when they visit Freiburg next week. Although, it will not be easy. Freiburg are coming off a strong performance against RB Leipzig as they held the Red Bulls to a 1-1 draw at Leipzig.
Meanwhile, Leverkusen will have a much tougher next assignment as they square off against third-place Borussia Monchengladbach at Borussia Park. Without a doubt, that will be one of the matchups to watch.
Gladbach made short work of Eintracht Frankfurt on their return to action. They won 3-1 and were already up 2-0 within the first seven minutes.
The SBOBET odds for that match will likely tilt slightly toward Gladbach, but with Havertz in such fine form, Leverkusen could cause the Foals’ defence some problems.
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