Kai Havertz will probably not play in Leverkusen for a long time. Currently, the 20-year-old still makes the difference in a duel with other Champions League rivals. Is it going like last year?
Mönchengladbach (dpa) - Questions specifically about Kai Havertz seem to cause physical pain to Peter Bosz. When asked about his greatest footballing gem, the Bayer Leverkusen coach almost always grimaces.
From the corner of his mouth he squeezes statements that do not really fit the appearances of perhaps the greatest German talent. "A bit better than against Bremen," Havertz's appearance at Borussia Mönchengladbach was, Bosz growled after the 3-1 (1-0) in the Bundesliga top game.
Havertz is in perfect shape for the season's final sprint. Or rather, Havertz preserved them. Because even before the Corona break, the shape of the 20-year-old clearly showed upwards after a manageable series. Havertz scored eight of his ten goals this season, scoring five times in the last five games alone. His appearance has been particularly dominant for the company club in the sterile ghost game atmosphere since the Bundesliga restart.
With two double packs for the 4: 1 in Bremen and the impressive win on Saturday against an incomparably stronger team, Havertz was each match winner and lifted his team into the Champions League ranks. "It was a real top game. We deserved to win. We had the game under control from the very first minute," said Havertz aptly but cautiously, specifically asking about his performance.
The 20-year-old also benefits from being on the attack due to Kevin Volland's injury. For the first time ever, Havertz scored twice on two consecutive game days. The next step for the giant talent will probably follow after the season - regardless of whether Leverkusen makes it back to the Champions League or not. "It is clear that there is a lot of speculation at the moment. It is quite normal," said Havertz to the rumors of the change.
FC Bayern, FC Barcelona or FC Liverpool are potential customers. "The games for Leverkusen are now in the foreground for me and I try to concentrate on them. At the end of the season we will find a solution," said Havertz, for whom there is a transfer fee of almost 100 million euros.
Not only Havertz is cautious, but also Bosz, who does not like to highlight individual players, however good they may be. "We mustn't forget that it was a great team performance today. Kai was one of them, that was great. But there were 13 others who played as well as Kai," said Bosz sternly.
The Havertz may also be modest. "We still have a lot of games ahead of us in which we still have to collect a lot of points," said Havertz on another participation in the Champions League. As in the previous year, Bayer Gladbach could still intercept. Due to the important victory in the direct duel, the Werkself undefeated for twelve competitive games initially passed Gladbach again.
In the season's final spurt, Leverkusen looks a bit more constant. However, the shape curves of both teams are far from being as opposite as in the second half of the previous season. Bayer has to stretch significantly more this time. "Gladbach asked us everything today and showed that they are rightly so high up in the table," said Sven Bender, scorer for the 3-1 final score, appreciatively.
The fact that Bayer is currently back in front of Borussia has to do with Havertz as the difference player. On the other hand, with the unequal possibilities of both clubs. The Gladbach team left their team unchanged in winter. The subsidiary of the Bayer Group just added around 35 million euros for Exequiel Palacios (River Plate) and Edmond Tapsoba (Guimaraes). At least on central defender Tapsoba bounced off a number of attempts by Borussia on Saturday. And on the offensive, with all the might of Marcus Thuram, Alassane Plea and Breel Embolo, a dominant figure like Havertz is missing, over whom almost every dangerous action by Bayer runs.
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