Havertz double deepens Werder woes
Kai Havertz continued to burnish his reputation with a first-half brace as Bayer Leverkusen thrashed struggling Werder Bremen.
Bayer Leverkusen made an emphatic return to Bundesliga action as Kai Havertz's first-half brace inspired a 4-1 win over relegation-threatened Werder Bremen.
During European football's coronavirus shutdown, Havertz was frequently the topic of transfer gossip columns and did nothing to dissuade an apparently growing band of admirers among the continent's elite.
Leading the Leverkusen attack at Weser-Stadion, the 20 year-old brilliantly headed home at the back post in the 28th minute after excellent work down the right from Moussa Diaby.
Theodor Gebre Selassie swiftly levelled from a 30th-minute corner but Werder's own set-piece frailties were soon on display again as Havertz converted from Kerem Demirbay's delivery.
Leverkusen, which fielded its youngest ever Bundesliga player in 17 year-old midfielder Florian Wirtz, further extended its advantage after an hour as its opponent again showed an aversion to defending aerially. Right-back Mitchell Weiser was the 61st-minute beneficiary.
Demirbay completed the scoring 12 minutes from time with a cute dinked finish on the end of a clever reverse pass from substitute Karim Bellarabi.
Peter Bosz's men are a point and place outside the Champions League positions in fifth, while Werder remains second bottom and five points behind 16th-placed Fortuna Dusseldorf.