Werner double helps Leipzig floor Freiburg
BERLIN: Germany striker Timo Werner netted twice as RB Leipzig came from behind to beat Freiburg 4-1 on Sunday and get their Bundesliga season on track.
Leipzig scored four goals without reply in the second half, roaring back after falling behind in a poor first period on the back of losing their opening match of the season 2-0 at Schalke last weekend.
“When you manage to turn things around like we did, at some point you are going to be rewarded,” said Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhuettl.
“It was a victory of our morale because we never gave up.”
Werner’s goals were a timely reminder for Germany head coach Joachim Loew, who included the fleet-footed forward for World Cup qualifiers against the Czech Republic on Friday in Prague and against Norway in Stuttgart four days later.
“We know what we have in him -- he can make goals out of nothing,” said Leipzig midfielder Diego Demme, heaping praise on the striker.
Werner and his forward partner Jean-Kevin Augustin were instrumental in turning the game around.
Later, Brazilian striker Jonathas enjoyed a dream debut for Hanover by netting their second-half winner in a 1-0 victory over Schalke.
Just five minutes after coming on, Jonathas rifled home the winner on 67 minutes to start repaying the nine million euros ($10.7m) he cost from Russian side Rubin Kazan in a deal completed on Tuesday.
Having been stripped of the Schalke captaincy by new coach Domenico Tedesco, World Cup-winning defender Benedikt Hoewedes was again left on the bench. - AFP