Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez scored a hat-trick against 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Matchday 5. - © © imago / Eibner
Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez scored a hat-trick against 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Matchday 5. - © © imago / Eibner

Leverkusen's Hernandez: 'It's not Chicharito vs Mainz'

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Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez heaped praise on his Bayer 04 Leverkusen teammates for their part in his match-winning hat-trick against 1. FSV Mainz 05.

bundesliga.com rounds up the reaction to Chicharito's goal-scoring masterclass at the OPEL ARENA...

Make Chicharito your Official Fantasy Bundesliga team captain for double the points!

Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez (Bayer 04 Leverkusen striker): "The result is Bayer Leverkusen against Mainz, not Chicharito against Mainz. It is impossible for one player to play against eleven."

Watch: Chicharito's full post-match interview:

Kevin Volland (Bayer Leverkusen 04 forward): "We needed a win like this. I don't know any player who is as good in front of goal as Chicharito."

Roger Schmidt (Bayer 04 Leverkusen head coach): "It's always a tough ask in Mainz and even more so at the minute, as FSV are in great form and have some great attacking threats. We made it too easy for them in the first half and then let them score twice. In the second-half, we were a lot better and didn't give away as many chances. We improved and then got lucky, but we deserved it based on our second-half display."

Martin Schmidt (1. FSV Mainz 05 head coach): "We lost this match in the second half. In the first half we were very good when it came to switching from defence to attack, but we shot ourselves in the foot in the second half. The team is self-critical enough to know that they didn't defend well enough today. The goals scored against us were all identical, and resulted from someone losing an aerial challenge. In Bremen we won two points, but today we lost one point."

Head to the Match Centre for more on the game