Sensational Suzuki sends ‘perfect’ Freiburg past Bremen

Japan's Yuito Suzuki delivered a sensational hat-trick as Freiburg comfortably defeated Werder Bremen 4-1 at the Europa-Park-Stadion. The 24-year-old midfielder expressed his delight, saying, "I feel amazing and I'm very happy to score a hattrick and to help the team with some goals. I'm just very happy." Suzuki began the scoring with a header from a corner, followed by a brilliant long-range effort from teammate Igor Matanovic just before halftime.

The young forward then added two more goals within seven minutes early in the second half, earning his third and fourth goals of the match. A late consolation goal from Dariusz Stalmach with 14 minutes remaining was not enough to spoil Freiburg's victory. Meanwhile, Schalke suffered a heavy 3-0 away defeat to Augsburg in their Bundesliga return, marking their first loss in top-flight football in 1,191 days.

The match saw Augsburg take the lead in the 18th minute, with Michael Gregoritsch scoring, followed by two goals from Ron Schallenberg and Rodrigo Ribeiro.