Hložek scored the decisive goal for Pavlenko and Leverkusen defeated Bremen. Schick did not come on

The 24th round of the Bundesliga promised to be an evenly-matched match between the two teams with Czech footballers in their jerseys. Eleventh-placed Bremen hosted ninth-placed Leverkusen at their stadium. Werder lost 2:3, with Adam Hložek’s goal deciding the victory.

As usual, goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka started in goal for the home team, while Hložek was on the pitch for Bayer from the start. On the other hand, Patrik Schick did not appear in the line-up of the team led by coach Xabi Alonso due to unspecified minor health problems. However, the reason for that could be that he is saving his strength for the Europa League semi-final rematch against Ferencváros.

The opening twenty minutes of the match offered a calm course with relatively cautious play from both sides. Only two inaccurate finishes by the visiting Adli are worth mentioning. Werder’s first interesting opportunity came in the 28th minute when Marvin Ducksch missed the target from a promising position.

However, the twenty-nine-year-old striker could have scored two minutes later. After Füllkrug’s assist, he sent a shot from an angle under the crossbar in the penalty area, which beat goalkeeper Lukáš Hradecký.

Soon after, Hložek could have equalised, but his shot just missed the three bars. Nevertheless, in the 34th minute the score was 1:1. Diaby’s centre dropped in the whitewash to Mitchell Bakker, who with his fierce shot into the top left corner of the net gave Pavlenko no chance to intervene.

The pace of the game was noticeably faster from the start in the second half than in the first. Ten minutes after the break the score changed again. Jeremie Frimpong, whose shot was crossed into Pavlenka’s path by defender Stark, ended up over the goal line.

In the 65th minute, the Slovakian-born Finnish goalkeeper Hradecky made an important save, specifically against Füllkrug, who took a dangerous shot towards the near post. However, coach Ole Werner’s charges did not put much pressure on the equaliser.

In the 84th minute came Adam Hložek’s star moment. Adli centred from the left and the young Czech striker headed accurately to the right post. In the end it was the winning goal, as three minutes later Niclas Füllkrug converted a penalty after Hincapie’s hand.

Leverkusen currently have 34 points and can still think about moving up to the cup standings in ninth position in the Bundesliga table. Thirty-point Bremen remain in eleventh place.

Source: Bundesliga