Football
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Javier Hernandez credits Leverkusen teammates for first Bundesliga goal

Bayer Leverkusen forward Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez credited his teammates with creating a chance for him to score his first Bundesliga goal in the club's 1-0 win over Mainz on Wednesday.

The summer signing from Manchester United netted the only goal of the game midway through the second half, with a deflection off Hakan Calhanoglu helping his 20-yard effort beat Loris Karius.

"We fought a lot," Hernandez told bundesliga.com after the game. "After the disappointment of losing to Dortmund, we won. The goal helped us a lot to control the game and get the points."

Hernandez scored at the 69th minute, ending a three-match slide for the club after disappointing consecutive losses to Bayern Munich, Darmstadt and Borussia Dortmund.

"Pressure's part of the game, but we believe in our squad, we believe in ourselves, in the way we like to play," Hernandez said. "We just need to try to prove it because there's no team that's going to be excellent from start to finish."

Leverkusen won their first two games of the Bundesliga season and also eliminated Lazio in the Champions League playoff round this past August. Hernandez's first goal for the club came in their 4-1 Champions League win over BATE Borisov last week.

Hernandez said it was a matter of playing as a team.

"We need to get used to the new players," the 27-year-old said. "Some players left too. We need to keep working, but the most important thing is that we played as we wanted to. We didn't concede or give away many chances. We created a chance and scored. I'm happy."

Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller said he was pleased with the turnaround.

"Not everything ran perfectly but the team worked really hard and had control of the opposition," Voller said. "We deserved to win. The important thing is to remain patient even if he gets a bit edgy at times."

Leverkusen head to Werder Bremen on Saturday.

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