Schick Makes History As Leverkusen Win Seven Goal Thriller Against Mainz

Bayer Leverkusen secured their first away victory of the Bundesliga season with a dramatic 4-3 win over Mainz on Saturday, as Patrik Schick equalled a club record that had stood for 16 years.

Robert Andrich, Schick, Jarell Quansah and Moussa Diaby scored for Carles Martínez's side, who twice established two-goal leads but were forced to survive a late scare at the MEWA ARENA.

The victory extends Leverkusen's unbeaten Bundesliga run to four matches and moves them into fourth place with ten points after five games.

Yet the afternoon also exposed defensive weaknesses that Martínez will need to address ahead of a demanding October schedule.

Leverkusen Survive Mainz Comeback

Die Werkself could hardly have asked for a better start.

Andrich opened the scoring after just five minutes with a powerful volley before Schick doubled the advantage four minutes later, finishing after an assist from Aleix García.

However, Mainz refused to collapse.

Anthony Caci struck twice before half-time, scoring in the 33rd and 42nd minutes to erase Leverkusen's early advantage and send the teams into the interval level at 2-2.

The response after the break proved decisive.

Quansah restored Leverkusen's lead with a header in the 55th minute before Diaby extended the advantage ten minutes later, converting after an assist from Afonso Moreira.

Benedict Hollerbach pulled another goal back for Mainz in stoppage time, but Bayer held on to claim all three points.

It was an entertaining victory, although conceding three times after leading 2-0 highlighted the difference between Leverkusen's attacking effectiveness and their defensive control.

Schick Joins Exclusive Leverkusen Club

Schick's ninth-minute goal was more than another important contribution to Leverkusen's victory.

According to OptaFranz, the Czech international became only the third Bayer Leverkusen player to score on each of the first five matchdays of a Bundesliga season.

The previous two were Dimitar Berbatov in 2005/06 and Stefan Kießling in 2009/10.

It is a remarkable achievement for Schick, who has established himself as Martínez's most reliable source of goals during the opening weeks of the campaign.

His five goals in five league appearances underline his importance to Carles Martinez' attack, currently dealing with injury concerns.

Christian Kofane is sidelined for several weeks with a thigh injury, increasing the responsibility on Schick to lead the line.

Victor Boniface remains an alternative, although Martínez acknowledged before the Mainz match that the striker has played relatively little football recently.

For now, Schick is giving Leverkusen the consistency they need from their centre-forward.

Maza Returns As Leverkusen Manage Injury Concerns

Another positive development was Ibrahim Maza's return to the starting lineup.

The Algerian international had been doubtful after suffering an ankle injury during the international break, but recovered sufficiently to feature against Mainz.

He played a role in two of Leverkusen's goals, allowing García's pass to reach Schick for the second before helping create the opportunity from which Quansah restored the lead.

His involvement was particularly encouraging given the concerns surrounding his fitness earlier in the week.

However, Leverkusen were without Eliesse Ben Seghir, who is dealing with a minor muscle injury. The club has confirmed the problem, although the length of his absence remains uncertain.

With Kofane also unavailable, Martínez faces an increasingly important challenge in managing his attacking options.

The Mainz victory demonstrated Leverkusen's ability to score goals from several positions, with four different players finding the net.

It also underlined the need for greater defensive stability. Having conceded three goals despite twice leading by two, Martínez will know that his side cannot rely on scoring four times every weekend.

Nevertheless, following their 2-0 victory over RB Leipzig before the international break, Leverkusen have now recorded consecutive Bundesliga wins and moved into the top four.

The next challenge is maintaining that momentum while navigating an October schedule that includes domestic and European commitments.

From here the stage only gets bigger.