Modeste scores hat trick as Cologne beats Hertha 4-2

Anthony Modeste boosted his appeal among suitors with a hat trick for Cologne to end its sixgame winless run by beating Hertha Berlin 4-2 in the Bundesliga yesterday.

The 28-year-old Modeste took his season tally to 22 goals, just one behind league top-scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Borussia Dortmund.

"We don't know what we'd do without him," Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn said.

Modeste, who joined Cologne from Hoffenheim in 2015, has already been the subject of transfer speculation this season with Cologne receiving reported offers of up to 50 million euros ($54 million) from China for the French striker.

Yuya Osako fired host Cologne into an early lead, though Hertha goalkeeper Rune Jarstein might have done better after letting the Japan forward's strike from distance slip through his fingers.

Horn pulled off a good save to deny Vedad Ibisevic and the visitors were to rue the miss when Modeste scored twice in as many minutes.

Hertha hadn't time to recover after Osako set up Modeste's first goal in the 35th minute before Modeste beat the offside trap to score again.

Hertha was given a lifeline after the break when Horn conceded a penalty with a foul on Niklas Stark, and it was converted by Ibisevic.

But any hopes of a comeback were dented when Modeste completed his hat trick in the 63rd on a well-played counterattack involving Marco Hoeger.

American defender John Anthony Brooks restored some Hertha pride with a header from a corner with around 20 minutes left, though it couldn't prevent the side's sixth straight defeat away from home. WERDER LEIPZIG 0

Bremen produced another upset to move away from the relegation zone with its fourth win in five games.

"Everyone is keeping pace in the table. You can't allow yourself to relax," Bremen coach Alexander Nouri said after beating the second-placed team.

Zlatko Junuzovic let fly with a curling shot inside the left post to give Bremen a 34th-minute lead.

Junuzovic, captain in the absence of the injured Clemens Fritz, was also involved in Bremen's second before the hourmark. He caught the Leipzig defense asleep with a free kick for the unmarked Florian Grillitsch to score.

Florian Kainz sealed it in injury time with his first Bremen goal.

Bremen moved 13th, two points clear of Hamburg in the relegation playoff place. BREMEN 3, WOLFSBURG STADT 0

If Wolfsburg had known that Mario Gomez can't stop scoring under Andries Jonker, the club would surely have appointed the Dutch coach much sooner.

Gomez scored again in Jonker's third game in charge, breaking the deadlock before the interval when Jannes Horn's cross went in off his chest. It was Gomez' 12th goal in eight games under Jonker, including five games for Bayern Munich when Jonker was interim coach in 2011.

Both remain unbeaten in their time together.

Bottom side Darmstadt dropped 14 points from safety. 1, DARM- OTHER GAMES Hoffenheim boosted its chances of Champions League football with a 1-0 win at home over Bayer Leverkusen to consolidate fourth, which would guarantee a playoff for Europe's premier competition. Fifthplaced Hertha dropped five points behind.

Freiburg gained more than host Augsburg from their 1-1 draw. It stayed eighth while Augsburg remained in a relegation scrap, level on 29 points with Wolfsburg and Bremen, just two points above Hamburg.

Mainz is also on 29 points before hosting Schalke on Sunday.

Also Sunday, defending champion Bayern Munich can stretch its lead to 13 points with a win at Borussia Moenchengladbach. Friday Yesterday Today

PW D L F A Pts B. Munich 24 18 5 1 60 13 59 RB Leipzig 25 15 4 6 43 28 49 Dortmund 25 13 7 5 54 27 46 Hoffenheim 25 11 12 2 46 25 45 Hertha Berlin 25 12 4 9 34 30 40 FC Cologne 25 9 10 6 37 29 37 E. Frankfurt 25 10 6 9 26 27 36 SC Freiburg 25 10 5 10 32 42 35 B. M’gladbach 24 9 5 10 30 33 32 B. Leverkusen 25 9 4 12 37 40 31 Schalke 24 8 6 10 31 27 30 Mainz 05 24 8 5 11 33 40 29 W. Bremen 25 8 5 12 34 44 29 FC Augsburg 25 7 8 10 24 34 29 Wolfsburg 25 8 5 12 23 34 29 Hamburg SV 25 7 6 12 24 46 27 Ingolstadt 25 5 4 16 23 42 19 Darmstadt 25 4 3 18 17 47 15