In some ways, Christmas has come early for Bayer 04 Leverkusen fans thanks to a certain pint-sized Mexican.
Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez has been scoring goals for fun in recent weeks, earning him the Bundesliga’s Player of the Month accolade for November, not to mention a whole host of Bundesliga best-marks along the way.
Continuing his prolific late-October run of form – six goals in his last five matches in all competitions – Hernandez added to his tally with consolation strikes in losing efforts to AS Roma in the Uefa Champions League and 1. FC Köln in the Rhine derby, before jetting off on international duty with Mexico.
Chicharito grabbed a brace on the Bundesliga’s resumption, despite purportedly having just two hours’ sleep the night before, as Leverkusen returned to winning ways with a 3-1 success at Eintracht Frankfurt. In one fell swoop, he became not just the first Mexican to hit a double in the Bundesliga, but also his country’s all-time leading scorer in the German top flight to boot.
“It does the team a lot of good to have a striker like Chicharito who scores regularly,” admitted Leverkusen head coach Roger Schmidt after an historic afternoon at the Commerzbank Arena on 21 November. “He’s integrated himself very well into our style of play. “It’s a bit out of the ordinary to see him scoring so consistently, so soon. That can only be a good thing for any side.”
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate