Lucas Vazquez's first goal for Bayer Leverkusen secured them a narrow 1-0 victory over Werder Bremen at BayArena on Saturday.

Leverkusen had lost all three of their games in 2026 so far, but they stayed within touching distance of the Bundesliga top five with their first win since mid-December.

Werder made a positive start, with Jens Stage testing Janis Blaswich early on, but that momentum was halted when Amos Pieper was forced off after a collision with his own goalkeeper, Mio Backhaus.

Patrik Schick thought he had put Leverkusen ahead, only for his goal to be ruled out for handball in the 12th minute, while Ernest Poku blazed over from very close range.

But Vazquez clinically slotted home in the 37th minute after lovely link-up play with Ibrahim Maza set him up just inside the penalty area.

Justin Njinmah's header then struck the post, while Maza came close to a goal of his own, only to cannon a long-range effort off the woodwork.

Leverkusen continued to provide the more obvious threat after the break, with Alex Grimaldo twice denied by Backhaus, while Werder's best chance to snatch an equaliser saw Keke Topp head wide in the 86th minute.

Data Debrief: Leverkusen edge to much-needed win

Leverkusen started a calendar year with back-to-back defeats for the first time since 2004, but unlike on that occasion, they won their third match this time around.

They may have had fewer shots than Werder (13 to the visitors' 17), but they accumulated 2.56 expected goals (xG), and had four big chances.

Vazquez was clinical, netting with his only shot of the game, but on the other side, Werder might feel a little hard done by, with both Romano Schmid and Njinmah both having four shots each, a game-high total.