Alfred the great hits hat-trick on Augsburg return

BERLIN: Iceland international Alfred Finnbogason marked his return from injury with a hat-trick as Augsburg eased to a 4-1 win over Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Having been sidelined with a knee injury since August, Finnbogason delivered a sparkling performance in his first appearance of the season to fire Augsburg up to eighth in the table.

“I wanted to play only when I felt fully fit, and I was obviously very excited because I knew how important this game could be,” Finnbogason told Sky. “We wanted to show that we are difficult to beat at home.”

Freiburg goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow was forced into two excellent saves in the opening exchanges, but he could do nothing to stop Caiuby’s powerful header on 19 minutes.

A dominant Augsburg doubled the lead 15 minutes later, as Jeffrey Gouweleeuw and Michael Gregoritsch sliced through the Freiburg defence and Finnbogason completed the move with a delicate backheel flick.

Medical staff were called into action after a member of the crowd reportedly suffered a heart attack cardiac arrest during the first half, and the game resumed under a sombre atmosphere after half-time.

A bizarre own goal brought Freiburg back into the game after the break, as Martin Hinteregger’s desperate goal-line clearance rebounded against teammate Jonathan Schmid and into the Augsburg net.

Briefly revived, Freiburg were eventually sunk by Finnbogason’s second, the Icelander coolly converting the penalty after being tripped in the box by Dominique Heintz.

Seven minutes from time, Finnbogason turned in Andre Hahn’s low cross to complete his hat-trick. - AFP