Leverkusen dispatch Hannover to move third
Leverkusen - Bayer 04 Leverkusen moved above Borussia Mönchengladbach into an automatic UEFA Champions League qualification spot with an emphatic 4-0 win over Hannover 96.
One-way traffic
Ömer Toprak, Julian Brandt, Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Stefan Kießling scored the goals for the Werkself, with Hannover, now winless in 13 matches, offering little or no threat in return.
Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt left out Germany international Karim Bellarabi for the first time in any competitive game all season, but his absence made little difference, with the home side dominating the game and Toprak opening the scoring with a near-post header. Julian Brandt, Bellarabi’s replacement, then doubled the lead with a neat finish inside the far corner.
The points were more or less sewn up within five minutes of the restart, as Papadopoulos lashed in a rebound after Kießling had headed against the bar. The 31-year-old eventually crowned his performance with a goal by tapping in to score Leverkusen's fourth, with Simon Rolfes and Bellarabi spurning good chances to make the margin of victory even greater.
Line-ups and statistics
