Patrik Schick starred with a superb hat-trick to carry Bayer Leverkusen to a dominant 4-1 victory over RB Leipzig on Saturday, keeping the Werkself on course to seal a fourth-place finish. 

The race for Champions League qualification in the Bundesliga is increasingly tight this season, with Leverkusen, Stuttgart, and Hoffenheim all vying for the final spot, on 58 points apiece. 

With the pressure on, Schick delivered a decisive opening blow in the 25th minute when he coolly finished off Nathan Tella's centre, drilling into the bottom corner to beat Maarten Vandevoordt. 

Tella himself went close on several occasions before finding the net on the stroke of half-time, tapping home from close range off Aleix Garcia's corner. 

Schick continued to ask questions of Leipzig's defence, who were unable to deal with the physical threat, and he added his second in the 76th minute, sending a powerful, low drive into the bottom left corner. 

Leipzig threatened a nervous finish in the 80th minute as Christoph Baumgartner smartly nodded home across the face of goal, but Leverkusen were never really under any pressure. 

Schick sealed the result in the 89th minute, netting his third on the break as he controlled Alejandro Grimaldo's through-ball before sliding a wry finish past Vandevoordt. 

Data Debrief: Another brilliant episode of the Schick show  

It comes as no surprise that Schick has been central to Leverkusen's success of late. The Czech international has scored nine goals in his last six Bundesliga matches – more than any other player across Europe's top 5 leagues during this run. 

Owing largely to his spectacular performance, Leverkusen generated 4.38 expected goals (xG), significantly trumping Leipzig's 1.14 xG. 

Schick himself bagged his hat-trick from nine shots (five on target) and had six big chances, overperforming his individual xG of 2.79.