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It was always going to be difficult to match the success of his debut season with Bayer Leverkusen, but Saturday marked a new low in the professional career of Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. The Mexican striker hadn’t scored a goal since October 1st, and he was looking for his first goal in seven Bundesliga matches.
With the scores level in the 88th minute of Leverkusen’s match with Freiburg, Chicharito stepped up to take the penalty that would end his goal scoring drought and reverse the fortunes of a Leverkusen club that had lost two consecutive Bundesliga matches.
However, Freiburg keeper Alexander Schwolow read Chicharito’s intentions and pulled off a fine save.
.@btsportfootball Leave Chicha alone! pic.twitter.com/uUvmhIPcRB
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) December 4, 2016
For Chicharito, his goal drought has now been extended to 456 minutes, eclipsing the mark of 410 minutes he suffered from during his final season with Manchester United.
Con el partido de hoy ante el Freiburg, Javier Hernández tiene la peor sequía goleadora de su carrera. pic.twitter.com/icNqRI8IVE
— ESPN Datos (@ESPNDatos) December 3, 2016
Chicharito has scored five goals in 12 Bundesliga matches this season, a decent return but he’ll certainly struggle to reach his total of 17 from last season. The struggles haven’t just been limited to Chicharito, however, with Leverkusen toiling in ninth and chances much more limited for the striker.
Last year, Chicharito averaged 2.3 shots per game, according to WhoScored. That number has dropped to 1.7 this season. With midfielders Kevin Kampl and Kevin Volland suffering from injuries and Admir Mehmedi struggling for form, Leverkusen will look to rebound in their final Champions League group match against Monaco on Wednesday. The German club have already secured progress to the round of 16 at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur and CSKA Moscow.
