Leverkusen bash 10-man Bochum to continue record-breaking run
The hosts made a surprisingly positive start, with Philipp Hofmann flicking an early header just wide. However, their already difficult task became even harder on 15 minutes when Felix Passlack received his marching orders for a professional foul on Nathan Tella, who was tugged down as he attempted to break onto a through ball.
That turned the momentum towards Xabi Alonso’s side, with Granit Xhaka soon rattling the crossbar from 20 yards.
Schick, who bagged a hat-trick in the reverse fixture in December, eventually made it 1-0 just before the break, hooking his leg around the defender to convert Arthur’s cross with a first-time finish.
The visitors had time to double their advantage before the interval as well, as Victor Boniface slotted home from the penalty spot following Keven Schlotterbeck’s trip on Tella.
Ominously for Bochum, who needed a point to guarantee survival, Bayer had won each of the previous 24 league games in which they had scored first this season.
That record was never at risk of coming to an end, as Schick almost made it 3-0 shortly after the restart when profiting from Erhan Masovic’s error, only for Manuel Riemann to save, while Boniface hammered against the post from distance.
The visitors were becoming more and more dominant by now, and further goals looked inevitable. Schick dragged another effort just wide of the far post, Xhaka had a thunderbolt palmed away and Riemann also stuck out a leg to deny Amine Adli.
The substitute did not have to wait long for his goal though, netting a towering header from the resulting corner.
Josip Stanisic added a fourth when guiding into the bottom corner with a wonderful curled strike from just inside the box, before Alex Grimaldo rounded off the rout by tapping into an empty net from Jonas Hofmann’s pass.
Bayer can now achieve immortality by avoiding defeat in their final league game against Augsburg next week, while Bochum are left sweating on their Bundesliga status ahead of a final-day showdown with Werder Bremen.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nathan Tella (Bayer Leverkusen)
