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Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez scored twice in a 3-1 win for Bayer Leverkusen at Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Friday, easing the pressure on coach Roger Schmidt. Despite a good 3-0 win over third-place Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend, speculation continued during the week that Leverkusen were looking for a replacement for Schmidt after an inconsistent season so far. Augsburg made the better start but the visitors turned the game around with their quick-passing forwards and Karim Bellarabi broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute with the league's 50,000th goal, going back to 1963. Julian Brandt and Hernandez combined before finding the 17-year-old Kai Havertz to cross for Bellarabi from the right. Koo Ja-Cheol missed the chance to equalise in a one-on-one with Bernd Leno shortly afterward, and the home side were to rue the miss when Hernandez made it 2-0 five minutes before the break. The Mexican striker feinted and waited for Augsburg keeper Marvin Hitz to go to ground before firing to the far corner for his ninth of the campaign. Koo set up Dominik Kohr for Augsburg to pull one back after an hour played, but any hopes of a comeback were dented when Hernandez claimed his second minutes later, set up with a brilliant pass from the impressive Havertz. Leverkusen climbed to eighth before the rest of the round this weekend. Schmidt's ultimate fate likely hinges on the Champions League games against Atletico Madrid. Leverkusen host the Spanish side for the first leg of their round-of-16 clash on Tuesday.
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LEV
