Werder Bremen 1-4 Bayer Leverkusen: Havertz double deepens Werder woes

Kai Havertz continued to burnish his reputation with a first-half brace as Bayer Leverkusen thrashed relegation-threatened Werder Bremen.

Bayer Leverkusen forward Kai Havertz's first-half brace inspired a 4-1 win over relegation-threatened 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 following 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 youngster ever Bundesliga player in 17-year-old midfielder Florian Wirtz, further extended its advantage after an hour as their host 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-place Fortuna Dusseldorf.

-Bosz hails 'special' Havertz after two-goal display for Leverkusen-

Bosz lauded "special player" Kai Havertz but insisted the in-demand star can improve amid growing interest.

After thrashing relegation-threatened Bremen behind closed doors at Weser-Stadion due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bosz told reporters: "Kai [Havertz] is a special player, but I don't think he made his best game today. He can do much better.

"I've known him for a long time now and I know he can do much better. It has to do with the rhythm. But for every player the captain's armband is something special. And so it will be for Kai."

Havertz, 20, added: "I'm very happy. We didn't make many mistakes and deservedly won.

"Now we want to continue like this on Saturday in Monchengladbach."