Suzuki's hat‑trick powers Freiburg past Werder Bremen

Under the floodlights of the Schwarzwald‑Stadion, a sea of red‑white scarves swayed as Yuito Suzuki stepped up for the corner that would ignite Freiburg's opening goal, and the Japanese forward went on to fire a 4‑1 victory over Werder Bremen at home on Sunday (30).

Freiburg made four changes from their midweek UEFA Conference League play‑off win, restoring Lukas Kübler, Jordy Makengo and Philipp Lienhart to the back line and preferring Niklas Beste in attack. Werder Bremen also altered their line‑up, with Karl Hein in goal and summer signings Ludovit Reis and Chuki replacing Samuel Mbangula and the injured Jens Stage. The adjustments paid off as Freiburg dominated possession and created the majority of chances. Suzuki opened the scoring with a header from a corner at 29′, before Igor Matanovic doubled the lead with a long‑range strike just before the break at 45′.

“I feel incredible and I am very happy to have scored three goals and helped the team. I am simply very happy,” Suzuki said after the match. He added, “Today was perfect. We want to continue like this.”

Michael Gregoritsch and Anton Kade star as Augsburg sweep aside Schalke

Werder Bremen struggled to create chances despite the return of German striker Niclas Füllkrug, and their consolation came from Dariusz Stalmach in the 76′ minute. The German side’s only goal arrived too late to affect the result, underscoring Freiburg’s control of the opening round of the Campeonato Alemão.

Schalke falter as Augsburg return

While Freiburg celebrated, Schalke 04 suffered a 3‑0 defeat at the hands of Augsburg in the club’s first top‑flight appearance in 1,191 days. Michael Gregoritsch gave Augsburg the lead at 18′, and Anton Kade added a second eleven minutes from time. A red card for Ron Schallenberg reduced Schalke to ten men, and Rodrigo Ribeiro sealed the win with a stoppage‑time strike in the 90+2 minute.

Opening round reshapes the league

The opening round saw seven teams start with victories – Freiburg, Augsburg, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, Cologne, Elversberg and Bayern Munich, who will travel to Schalke next Saturday, a venue they have not lost at since 2010. The results set an early hierarchy in the German Championship and give the newly promoted sides confidence.