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Patrik Schick celebrated his first Bundesliga start of the season Wednesday with a hat trick as Bayer Leverkusen consolidated top spot in the Bundesliga and set a record for games unbeaten with a 4-0 rout of VfL Bochum.
Leverkusen stretched their unbeaten start to the season to 25 games across all competitions, beating the German record of 24 games without defeat set by Hamburg at the start of the 1982-83 season.
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Hamburg’s record stood at the time as 14 wins and 10 draws before a 2-1 loss at Hertha Berlin in the third round of the German Cup.
Leverkusen, meanwhile, have romped to 22 wins and three draws since the season began.
Xabi Alonso’s side were unstoppable after a slow start on Wednesday and struck three times in 15 minutes to kill of the game in the first half. The league resumes on Jan. 12.
Schick drilled in a penalty on the half-hour mark and then slotted in his second goal of the evening in the 32nd after a low cross into the box from Jeremie Frimpong.
The 27-year-old Czech forward completed his hat trick in stoppage time heading in an Alejandro Grimaldo corner.
They added a fourth with substitute Victor Boniface in the 69th.
Leverkusen end the year on 42 points in top spot, four ahead of Bayern Munich, who have a game in hand. VfB Stuttgart are third on 34.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.