After a long suffering, Bayer Leverkusen’s goalscorer Patrik Schick is back in the football routine. Last season, he missed nearly 30 games through a nasty adductor injury, and he had to sit the entire of November 2023 out with a calf problem. Despite three games without scoring, Leverkusen’s striker remains calm and does not want to lower expectations for himself. He also praises the new mentality within the club.Bayer played three Bundesliga games this calendar year and collected seven points. However, Schick is not satisfied. Bayer was recently highly superior against Borussia Monchengladbach but couldn’t find the net and dropped two points. Also, the strong centre-forward remained without a goal despite three appearances over 90 minutes. It’s a record that would annoy any striker.🇨🇿✨ Patrik Schick (27) is BACK! Hat-trick inside first 45′ for Leverkusen… really great return after lengthy period out with injuries!Xabi Alonso’s side are 3-0 up vs Bochum. They are not slowing down. pic.twitter.com/od2ZQj6pZP— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) December 20, 2023 So it does Schick, who takes a different outlook on things due to his special personal situation. He looks at his current dry spell humbly and evaluates it differently than he would have before his long hiatus. “If I had already gotten used to the full match schedule again, I would probably be much angrier. After 14 months out, playing full 90 minutes in three successive games brings me joy.”Before the seasonal break, things were going smoothly for the striker. Schick scored in seven matches on average every 36 minutes and was involved in a goal every 27 minutes. In the year’s final match against Bochum (4-0), he scored a hat-trick.As surprising as his former streak was, a dry spell like the one he is experiencing now was just as predictable. He doesn’t let himself get upset by it nor by critics. Statements like ‘Schick, who scored 24 goals in 27 league games in the 2021/2022 season, won’t be the same anymore’ don’t bother him. On the contrary! “That motivates me. To be honest, I like it. I like the expectation that I have to score in every game. I don’t see it as criticism but as genuine motivation for me. No one should lower their expectations of me. I have now played four games from the start. Maybe I still need a little more time. But I feel good.”##NAJAVA_MECA_7845503##High expectations generally appeal to the Czech Footballer of the Year 2021 and 2022. This also applies to those within the club, which have been significantly raised. In July of 2022, Bayer Leverkusen bosses presented Schick with their plans during contract extension negotiations until 2027.”Now you can see the results of this work. We have signed players of high quality who have a direct impact on the team. Now, we are fighting for titles. We don’t just want to qualify for the Champions League anymore, no, we want to win a few trophies. The club’s mentality has changed.”Already in the first training session after his return, he felt that “everyone feels that we have the chance to achieve something, and everyone gives 100 per cent for it. This belief and this plan are the most important things.”Schick’s confidence does not stem from their position as league leader.”The chances of winning something are huge. But not because of the position we are in right now but because of the style we play with. We believe in ourselves.”Xabi Alonso’s tactical genius is keeping Leverkusen topFor this change, the false start in the previous season when Bayer was second to last after eight matchdays was helpful. “Even if it sounds crazy, the bad start to last season gave us a lot. We now know how we have to work to avoid that.”This attitude was boosted by Xabi Alonso, who took over Bayer at the beginning of October 2022. The Basque completely revamped the team’s style. “We play completely differently. When someone comes who has won everything in football, you would be pretty stupid not to listen to him. There is no better coach than one who was such a good player and who was trained by the best coaches in the world. We believe in what Alonso believes.” A win at Bundesliga’s newly-promoted team Darmstadt would get the Aspirin Makers’ title bid back on track.BUNDESLIGA – MATCHDAY 20FridayHeidenheim – Borussia Dortmund 0-0Saturday17:30: (9.00) Darmstadt (5.80) Leverkusen (1.30)17:30: (2.30) Bochum (3.50) Augsburg (3.25)17:30: (1.20) Bayern (8.00) M’ gladbach (14.0)17:30: (2.95) Freiburg (3.45) Stuttgart (2.35)17:30: (2.20) Mainz (3.50) Werder (3.50)20:30: (3.25) Koln (3.40) Eintr.Frankfurt (2.35)Sunday17:30: (2.15) Wolfsburg (3.50) Hoffenheim (3.30)19:30: (1.42) RB Leipzig (4.60) Union Berlin (7.50)***odds are subject to change***
