Vincenzo Grifo scored the earliest Bundesliga hat-trick in over 31 years after netting three times in the opening 20 minutes as Freiburg decimated 10-man Union Berlin 4-1 at the Stade Europa-Park.The two surprise packages of the season so far, Freiburg and Union Berlin were going head-to-head with second place in the Bundesliga up for grabs. No doubt, wanting to put their 3-1 defeat at RB Leipzig behind them, the hosts flew out of the blocks and were awarded with a penalty inside four minutes after VAR spotted a handball by Sheraldo Becker, allowing Grifo to step up and make no mistake from the spot. Union Berlin were further punished for their slow start, allowing Michael Gregoritsch to put the ball on a plate for Grifo two minutes later to secure his brace.A crazy opening 10 minutes was capped off when Nicolas Höfler caught Becker inside his own area, presenting Robin Knoche with a golden opportunity to get the visitors back in the game. However, to his dismay Knoche’s well-struck penalty cannoned back of the post to keep the scoreline at 2-0. The visitors’ nightmare start was compounded when Ritsu Dōan was through on goal only to be brought down by Diogo Leite, leaving referee Deniz Aytekin no choice but to point to the spot and show the Portuguese defender a red card. Grifo once again stepped up to find the top corner from the spot to complete a 20-minute hat-trick.Maestro Musiala guides Bayern six points clear with win over SchalkeDespite defending well for the remainder of the half, Union conceded right on the stroke of halftime. Dōan’s well-placed pass put Gregoritsch through on goal, who audaciously dinked the ball over Lennart Grill to make it 4-0. Unsurprisingly, with the game already won, the second half was played at a much slower pace with the hosts taking over 20 minutes to carve out a chance, this time Grifo’s low effort being cleared away well by Grill.A golden chance for Union Berlin fell to Morten Thorsby, as the midfielder’s close control created enough space for a well-struck volley which was palmed away by Mark Flekken. The scoreline was made slightly less embarrassing after Union were awarded the fourth penalty of the game following a foul on Paul Seguin. This time, Sven Michel stepped up and easily converted from the spot to make it 4-1.The comfortable victory means Freiburg will finish the year in second place heading into the FIFA World Cup break, whilst Union Berlin move down to fifth, level on points with 4th place Eintracht Frankfurt.BUNDESLIGA – ROUND 15FridayM’gladbach – Dortmund 4-2 (3-2)/Hofmann 4, Bensebaini 26, Thuram 30, Kone 46 – Brandt 19, Schlotterbeck 40/SaturdayAugsburg – Bochum 0-1 (0-0)/Antwi-Adjei 58/Bayer Leverkusen – Stuttgart 2-0 (1-0)/Diaby 30, Tah 82/Hertha Berlin – Koln 2-0 (1-0)/Kanga 9, Richter 54/Hoffenheim – Wolfsburg 1-2 (1-1)/Baumgartner 42 – Kabak 45+4 og, Baku 56/Werder Bremen – RB Leipzig 1-2 (0-1)/Gross 57 – Silva 13, Schlager 71/Schalke – Bayern 0-2 (0-1)/Gnabry 38, Choupo-Moting 52/SundayMainz – Eintr.Frankfurt 1-1 (1-0)/Burkardt 40 – Kolo Muani 67/Freiburg – Union Berlin 4-1 (4-0)/Grifo 4 pen, 6, 20 pen, Gregoritsch 45+1 – Michel 84 pen/©FlashScore
