Lucas Alario is not exactly renowned for long-range wonder-goals but, when he cut inside onto his right boot during Bayer Leverkusen’s thrilling Bundesliga clash with Borussia Monchengladbach, the result was inevitable.
The man with the Midas Touch just doesn’t seem to miss these days.
And, sure enough, after connecting beautifully with a bouncing ball just inside the penalty area, Gladbach keeper Yan Sommer was left grasping at thin air as an inch-perfect shot arced over his head and into the top corner.
Wing wonders Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby played their part as Leverkusen moved to within one win of leaders Bayern Munich during an exhausting 4-3 victory. But, once again, it was the in-form Argentine who dominated the post-match discussion after yet another match-winning brace.
“Those were two amazing goals from him,” said Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, in conversation with BILD.
“Lucas is a machine in front of goal. He constantly practices and works on himself,” added sporting director and former Germany international Simon Rolfes.
Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz openly admitted that his side might struggle in the final third this season after the departures of Kai Havertz and Kevin Volland, not to mention an ill-timed injury to big summer signing Patrik Schick.
Where would the goals come from? Well, Alario is the answer.
A man who scored just 12 times last term already has nine in ten games this, including seven in his last seven.
Alario has also become the first player in Leverkusen history to score a brace in three successive Bundesliga games.
So everyone connected with this famous old club will be counting their lucky stars that Alario resisted the temptation to join Havertz in England.
He certainly could have done, telling TYC Sports last week that Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United had made an approach. Alario’s agent also revealed interest from both Tottenham Hotspur (TNT) and Celtic (Europa Calcio) over the summer months.
But, after spending almost the entirety of 2019/20 wasting away on the bench, Leverkusen’s £16 million star was never going to miss the chance to finally nail down a starting place in the post-Havertz and Volland world.
Now, Alario is not only one of the hottest strikers in Europe, he also has a place in Leverkusen history to call his own.
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