Two bankruptcies after five wins – the second half of the season starts frustratingly for Bayer Leverkusen. Bayer is waiting for the Schick return for the storm. FC Augsburg, on the other hand, celebrates its top attacker.
Xabi Alonso had to visibly nibble on the next damper in the Leverkusen comeback that had just ended. “We have to keep going, there are still a lot of points to be won,” said the former world and European champion after the 0-1 draw in the Bundesliga at FC Augsburg and tried to look ahead.
Mergim Berisha made FCA celebrate their second win in their fourth challenging game of the year and was the center forward Bayer Leverkusen are currently missing. After five wins beforehand, Bayer have two defeats in two games at the start of the second half of the season.
Schick “not yet fully fit”
The return of the Czech Patrik Schick is further delayed with the Rhinelanders, who were ultimately too harmless against FC Augsburg on the offensive. “Patrik is feeling better but not completely fit yet,” said former Bayern pro Alonso. The Czech, last year’s second top scorer in the Bundesliga with 24 goals, has not played a competitive game since November 1 due to groin problems.
Schick would do the Werkself a lot of good, because he brings that “certain rip-off” that goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky missed after the appearance in Augsburg. On the offensive, the appearance was “a bit unimaginative,” said the goalkeeper.
Augsburg, on the other hand, presented themselves ice-cold, scoring the winning goal with a header from Berisha, who was free after a corner. “Every week he shows that he has outstanding skills in the box,” said coach Enrico Maassen, who particularly praised the defensive work of the U21 European champions. And remarkable: For the fifth time, Berisha scored 1-0 in an Augsburg home game.
“I think there are few better nines that we have in Germany,” said Maassen. Manager Stefan Reuter reported that Flick assistant coach Marcus Sorg was there during the wet and cold game on Friday evening. “It’s perfectly normal for him to be somewhere in sight,” said the 1990 World Champion. “He has exceptional qualities in front of goal.” Does Hansi Flick see it that way too?
Reuter gave his convincing performance in the four games against Dortmund (3-4), Mönchengladbach (1-0), Freiburg (1-3) and Leverkusen a “very mature performance”. Before the upcoming tasks against teams that at first glance appear to be less strong, Reuter assured: “We will keep our foot on the gas.”
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
