FREIBURG, Germany - Japan attacker Yuito Suzuki grabbed a hat-trick in the German Bundesliga opener on Sunday as Freiburg hammered Werder Bremen 4-1 at home, while Lille-linked forward Ayase Ueda scored for Feyenoord in the Netherlands.
The 24-year-old Suzuki made a dream start to the campaign for last season's Europa League finalists Freiburg as they look to improve on their domestic seventh-place finish.
Suzuki headed in a 29th-minute corner and Igor Matanovic struck a fine 25-meter drive to double the lead just before the break at Europa-Park Stadion to put them in firm control.
Suzuki steered a cutback from the left high into the net three minutes into the second half before tapping in Matanovic's square ball for his third in the 55th minute. Dariusz Stalmach got one back for the visitors with a 76th-minute header.
New forward Keisuke Goto replaced his compatriot and fellow World Cup teammate Suzuki with 11 minutes to go for Freiburg.
In the Dutch Eredivisie, last season's top scorer Ueda netted for the third straight game as Feyenoord drew 2-2 at home with ADO Den Haag.
Ueda controlled a ball into the right-hand side of the box before drilling home from a tight angle through the goalkeeper's legs to halve the deficit in the 62nd minute, with Feyenoord leveling 10 minutes later.
It could be the last goal for the Dutch powerhouse for Ueda after the online edition of Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported his impending move to French Ligue 1 side Lille, who finished third last season and are in the Champions League this term.
Ueda joined Feyenoord in the summer of 2023 and bagged 25 goals last season to win the Eredivisie golden boot. He made his second straight World Cup appearance for Japan this summer, scoring a brace in a 4-0 group-stage win over Tunisia
