Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick caught the eye in the European Championships this summer. He scored the goal of the tournament, with an audacious attempt from long distance rifling into the Scotland goal; one of two goals he scored that day. Schick didn’t score in the group stage against England but went on to score against Croatia, the Netherlands, and Denmark in a run of games that took the Czechs to the quarter-final of the tournament before losing to the Danes. For fans of German football, Schick’s quality on the world stage came as no surprise.
Schick, initially spending time with RB Leipzig, scored 10 goals in 22 Bundesliga games in the 2019/20 season, but despite this never felt like a long term answer for Leipzig. This was enough to convince Leverkusen to part with £23.5 million for his services in the summer of last year, and Schick repaid this faith with 13 goals in all competitions in his first season.
He has started this season well, scoring four in his first five league games, with Leverkusen starting the campaign with a goal frenzy, only behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund for goals scored at this early stage. This tactical analysis and scout report will give an in-depth analysis on Schick’s tendencies as a striker, whilst also giving insight into how he fits into Bayer Leverkusen’s tactics.
A traditional target man?
Given Schick’s large frame, he naturally fits the bill of a traditional target man. And he certainly has the assets to back this statement up too. Statistically, he performs respectably winning 37.9% of his 5.19 aerial duels per 90 in all competitions this season.
If players are willing to run off of Schick’s shoulder, then he will oblige by winning headers and helping the ball on. However, he shows excellent awareness of where his teammates are as the ball is in the air, as well as the positioning of the defenders and specifically the proximity of his marker. Schick can adjust accordingly and can bring the ball down and hold up play when many forwards would simply look to head the ball on.
In the example shown below, he shows outstanding ability to bring the ball down on his chest, and hold up play before finding a pass option. As we can see in the image, there is no obvious immediate pass option for him to help the ball onto with a header.
Schick is able with the ball on the floor too. Whilst he provides a viable option to hit the ball too aerially, he has a good first touch and can play first time with either foot. If he senses pressure he plays off of his front foot or may look to receive with a flat body position. He can accurately shift the ball either side of him over short to medium distances with a first-time pass. We can see this occurring below. However, Schick doesn’t panic in possession and can receive, hold play up, and find a nearby teammate whilst under pressure. There are occasions where for a man of his size he could do a better job holding up possession though.
