Maza Praises Record-Breaker Schick as Leverkusen Partnership Flourishes

Ibrahim Maza said he greatly enjoys playing alongside Patrik Schick, who made club history in Bayer Leverkusen's 2-1 win over Freiburg, and highlighted the understanding between the pair.

Carles Martinez's side claimed a third consecutive victory through goals from Maza and Schick, climbing to fourth place in the Bundesliga table.

Schick's winner in the 76th minute extended the Czech striker's run of scoring in every Bundesliga match this season. Having scored in all 6 of his appearances since the start of the campaign, Schick became the first player in Leverkusen history to achieve the feat.

Dimitar Berbatov (2005-06) and Stefan Kiessling (2009-10) had previously scored in the first 5 matches of a Bundesliga season for Leverkusen. Schick is now also closing in on Kiessling's club record of scoring in 7 consecutive Bundesliga matches.

With the pair setting each other up in the match, Schick was directly involved in two goals in a Bundesliga game for the second time this season. The Czech forward had previously done so against Union Berlin in September, when team-mate Miguel Gutierrez was also directly involved in two goals in the same match.

Speaking after the match, Maza said: "It was great fun to play against such a strong opponent. We have great respect for Freiburg, but we showed on the pitch what we can do. We played fantastic football today, but Freiburg also put up a very good fight. Schicki and I are developing really good chemistry. The more time we spend together on the pitch, the better everything gets. Things are going very positively right now."

Schick, for his part, said he was happy to have written his name into the club's history, but stressed that his real satisfaction came from the win that leaves them just one point behind leaders Bayern Munich. The star striker said: "I found out that I had broken the record, and of course that made me very happy. But this result is much more important in terms of the table. Freiburg are one of the best teams in the league, so it was a difficult match. As a team we can see our progress; we are no longer making the simple mistakes we made at the start of the season. A game like this could easily have ended in a draw, so we are very happy."

Leverkusen visit OFI Crete in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday before travelling to Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Sunday.