Germany winger Andre Schuerrle on Tuesday claimed the first Bundesliga hat-trick of his career as VfL Wolfsburg routed bottom side Hannover 96 4-0 away in the German league.
It was Schuerrle’s cross at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana that saw Mario Goetze score Germany’s winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final.
However, 25-year-old Schuerrle has struggled to hold down a first-team place since joining Wolfsburg from Chelsea a year ago.
Photo: EPA
“I already have the match ball in the changing room,” Schuerrle said, as Wolfsburg got back to winning ways after a 2-0 defeat at home to Bayern Munich on Saturday last week.
“I was playing more as a striker tonight and the change paid off. Of course I’m pleased, but it’s the sort of game which is good for the soul,” he added.
March 1 is a lucky day for Schuerrle, who also scored a hat-trick for Chelsea against Fulham in the Premier League exactly two years ago.
His performance is to boost his standing at Wolfsburg and in this one game he has scored more goals than in his previous 33 matches for the Champions League side.
Schuerrle needed just 26 minutes to score three goals before Germany teammate Julian Draxler added Wolfsburg’s fourth at Hannover’s HDI-Arena.
Schuerrle opened the scoring by firing home Draxler’s pass in off the post on 36 minutes.
He doubled his tally on 59 minutes and then claimed his third less than three minutes later when he chested the ball down and fired home with a superb shot.
He could have finished with four goals after his chip went just wide of the post, before Draxler netted Wolfsburg’s fourth on 69 minutes.
The win leaves Wolfsburg eighth, while Hannover are bottom and six points from safety.
The German Football Association is expected to fine both clubs after a flare fired from the away fan block hit the Hannover bench before kickoff, but no one was hurt.
“That sort of thing shouldn’t happen in a stadium,” Schuerrle said, criticizing the fans’ behavior.
This is not the first time this fixture has been affected by fireworks.
In December 2014, Wolfsburg fans also fired four flares and set off a smoke bomb in the away section of Hannover’s stadium.
Both clubs were fined 6,000 euros (US$6,525 at current exchange rates) at the time.
“There is already some history of this happening and there should be no place for it in football,” Hannover captain Christian Schulz said.
Elsewhere, French striker Anthony Modeste rescued a point for Cologne in their 1-1 draw at Ingolstadt 04 after forward Lukas Hinterseer had given the hosts the lead.
Yesterday, Bundesliga leaders Bayern were to host fifth-placed FSV Mainz 05, while Borussia Dortmund traveled to strugglers SV Darmstadt 98.
Pep Guardiola’s Bayern is to play Thomas Tuchel’s Borussia on Saturday in the mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash in Dortmund.
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