Hložek entered the match as a striker, but he did not behave like a classic striker. Above all, when defending, he retreated lower, calmly to the border of his own penalty area, his teammates from the wings Amine Adli and Moussa Diaby oscillated in front of him. The twenty-year-old Czech worked honestly. When he got to the ball, he was felt.
In the 21st minute, he let go of the ball during an offensive lunge, turned and leaned into it with his left hand. He hit the post, but Mitchel Bakker promptly knocked the rebound into the net. The native of Ivančice scored a regular assist in the 43rd minute. And she was worth it.
The home team attacked, Leverkusen’s defender Edmond Tapsoba kicked the ball to Hložek, who sent Adli running after one touch. The speedster of the visitors raced past Nic Elvedi and shot past goalkeeper Jonas Omlin. Did Hložek want to do it this way? Hard to say, but his solution looked brilliant. Almost genius.
The Czech representative spent sixty-three minutes on the pitch, and was active at the end. His not very powerful shot in the first half was easily caught by Omlin, a much better shot in the second half was blocked by Mönchengladbach’s defenders for a corner. Hložek indicated that he is more in tune with his teammates. Before the match, it was decided whether he would be in the starting line-up. He got a chance and showed himself in a good light. He has one goal and three assists in the Bundesliga, one assist in the Champions League and one goal in the domestic cup.
“It’s really good to take three points in Mönchengladbach after such a long break. Everyone knew how important it was to start the new year well. The first seventy minutes were professional from our side, we performed well. But there is always a risk that one goal will change the whole mindset,” said Bayer coach Xabi Alonso. His team led 3-0, but in the end the home team reduced the difference to one goal.
Leverkusen is climbing the Bundesliga table, after a terrible start it has already reached the first half. In addition, the whole club is happy that the offensive gem Florian Wirtz started for the first time in the season after a serious knee injury. Leverkusen’s Czech striker Patrik Schick was absent due to groin problems.
