Lucas Vázquez Scores First Bundesliga Goal as Bayer Leverkusen Edge Werder Bremen 1-0
Key Takeaways
- •Lucas Vázquez scored the only goal in Bayer Leverkusen’s 1-0 Bundesliga win over Werder Bremen.
- •The victory ended Leverkusen’s three-game losing run and marked their first win of 2026.
- •The goal was Vázquez’s first in the Bundesliga since joining Leverkusen on a free transfer in 2025.
- •It was his first goal away from Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu in 3,935 days.
- •Coach Kasper Hjulmand has used Vázquez regularly at right-back and in wider attacking roles this season.
Lucas Vázquez, the 35-year-old who spent a decade patrolling Real Madrid's right flank, has found the back of the net for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, marking his first goal in the German top flight since joining the club on a free transfer last summer.
The goal came in the 37th minute and proved decisive as Leverkusen secured a 1-0 victory over Werder Bremen at the BayArena on January 24, snapping a three-game losing streak and giving the club its first win of the 2026 calendar year.
A Drought Measured in Thousands of Days
Vázquez's strike was not just his first Bundesliga goal. It was his first goal scored away from Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu in 3,935 days — roughly 10 years and 9 months — dating back to 2015, when he last managed the feat outside of his former home ground.
The Spaniard joined Leverkusen on August 26, 2025, signing a contract that runs through 2027 after his long tenure at the Bernabéu came to an end.
Breaking the 2026 Hex
Leverkusen had entered the new calendar year in rough shape, dropping three consecutive matches. Matchday 19 against Bremen was shaping up as a must-win, even by January standards.
Coach Kasper Hjulmand had relied on Vázquez consistently across Bundesliga and European competition throughout the season, deploying him primarily as a right-back but also utilizing his experience in wider attacking roles.
For a squad competing in both the Bundesliga and European competition in the 2025-26 season, halting a losing run at home also helped stabilize a stretch that had already begun to test the margins of a crowded fixture list.
From the Bernabéu to the BayArena
Born on July 1, 1991, Vázquez built his reputation at Real Madrid, where he won multiple Champions League titles over a decade in the Spanish capital. His free transfer meant Leverkusen acquired a player with elite-level experience at zero acquisition cost.
As of mid-2026, Vázquez remains firmly embedded in the squad, with no reported transfer activity suggesting a departure. His contract runs through 2027, and his involvement in both competitive and friendly fixtures indicates that the club views him as a core contributor rather than a transitional signing.
