Bayer Leverkusen's Czech goal machine Patrik Schick (l.) is impressing new coach Gerardo Seoane (r.) with his displays at UEFA Euro 2020.
Bayer Leverkusen's Czech goal machine Patrik Schick (l.) is impressing new coach Gerardo Seoane (r.) with his displays at UEFA Euro 2020. - © imago/ DFL
Bayer Leverkusen's Czech goal machine Patrik Schick (l.) is impressing new coach Gerardo Seoane (r.) with his displays at UEFA Euro 2020. - © imago/ DFL
bundesliga

"Patrik Schick is a top striker" - Bayer Leverkusen head coach Gerardo Seoane

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New Bayer Leverkusen coach Gerardo Seoane says he has been delighted with the performances of Czech Republic striker Patrik Schick at UEFA Euro 2020.

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Schick has scored four of his country's six goals at the pan-European finals, firing the Czechs into the quarter-finals, where they face Denmark on Saturday.

Tournament-wide, only Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo has found the net more often (five times).

Seoane, who has signed a three-year deal at the BayArena, cannot get enough of the Leverkusen forward.

"It's fun to watch the magnificent performances that Patrik Schick is putting in," the 42-year-old Swiss newspaper Blick. "He's a top striker and a fantastic finisher."

The statistics don't lie. Schick's four goals are the product of just eight efforts on target, across four appearances spanning 325 minutes. Ronaldo hit the target the same number of times before his Portugal team were eliminated by Belgium in the last 16, albeit scoring three of his five goals from the penalty spot.

Schick's Goal of the Tournament contender against Scotland, meanwhile, had an Expected Goals rating (xG) of just 0.03 when he took the ball on some 49.7 yards from the opposition goal. It was the furthest distance anyone has scored from in a European Championship or World Cup since 1980.

Schick's audacious curling strike from halfway caught Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall (pictured) completely unawares. - imago

Schick - who is the only player left in the competition on over three goals - found the back of the net nine times for Leverkusen in 2020/21. The new campaign will be his second at the club, but third in the Bundesliga following an eight-goal loan stint at RB Leipzig in 2019/20.

Watch: FIFA 21 recreates a Patrik Schick special

Schick previously played for Roma, Sampdoria, Bohemians Praha and Sparta Prague. The 25-year-old is contracted at Leverkusen until summer 2025.