Suzuki hat-trick fires Freiburg to 4-1 win over Bremen
| Freiburg players celebrating. | Photo: Daniela Porcelli / Getty Images. |
Freiburg made a flying start to the new Bundesliga season, cruising to a 4-1 victory over Werder Bremen. Yuito Suzuki scored a stunning hat-trick, while Mio Backhaus made his Bundesliga debut for Freiburg against his former club.
Match report
The first half was a closely fought affair, with neither side creating many clear-cut opportunities. Freiburg goalkeeper Mio Backhaus attracted plenty of attention as he made his Bundesliga debut for the club - against his former side, Bremen.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 29th minute. Freiburg won a corner, and former Bremen player Jan-Niklas Beste delivered a dangerous cross into the box. Yuito Suzuki rose highest and headed Freiburg into the lead.
Not much happened before the break, but the second half exploded into life almost immediately.
Just seconds after the restart, Igor Matanovic tried his luck from the edge of the box and unleashed a powerful effort into the far corner. Less than 50 seconds had been played in the second half, but Freiburg already had a 2-0 lead.
Only three minutes later, the hosts effectively put the game beyond Bremen's reach. Suzuki found himself in the box once again and calmly finished with his left foot to make it 3-0. And Freiburg were not finished yet.
In the 55th minute, Suzuki completed his hat-trick following a beautiful one-two combination with Matanovic. The Japan international made no mistake with the finish to put Freiburg 4-0 ahead.
Only then did Bremen finally wake up. The visitors created their best chances of the match, with new signing Dariusz Stalmach eventually finding the net to give Werder a glimmer of hope.
Bremen had already come close moments earlier when Niclas Füllkrug was gifted a huge opportunity following a costly mistake from the Freiburg defence. However, Freiburg defender Lukas Kübler made a crucial last-second intervention to deny the striker.
Freiburg managed the game comfortably in the closing stages to secure an emphatic 4-1 victory.
For Freiburg, it was an ideal start to the new Bundesliga campaign. For Bremen, however, the performance offered an early warning that it could be a long season ahead.
