Bayer Leverkusen ended their pre-winter break fixtures with a commanding 5-1 win over Freiburg, thanks to Patrik Schick's four goals. This victory secured Leverkusen's position in second place in the Bundesliga standings, trailing Bayern Munich by four points. Bayern had earlier defeated RB Leipzig 5-1. Schick opened the scoring at BayArena with a clever lob over Freiburg's goalkeeper Noah Atubolu during first-half stoppage time.
Earlier in the match, Florian Wirtz missed a penalty in the 33rd minute, which Atubolu saved. However, Wirtz redeemed himself by doubling Leverkusen's lead with a close-range goal six minutes into the second half. Freiburg briefly threatened a comeback when Vincenzo Grifo scored four minutes later, but Schick quickly extinguished their hopes.

Schick extended Leverkusen's lead to 3-1 by heading in from Wirtz's cross in the 67th minute. He completed his hat-trick just seven minutes later, again assisted by Wirtz. Schick sealed his remarkable performance with a fourth goal, another header, 13 minutes before the final whistle.
This victory marked Leverkusen's fifth consecutive league win, their longest streak since April. Schick has now scored nine league goals this season, more than any other player on his team. Meanwhile, Wirtz has accumulated seven assists this season after providing three against Freiburg, making him the top assist provider in the Bundesliga.