European Cup
Grifo hat trick ensures Freiburg victory – and a big step towards the knockout rounds
Match winner Vincenzo Grifo
© Tom Weller / DPA
Vincenzo Grifo puts the ball into the net three times. So he lets SC Freiburg celebrate against Backa Topola in the Europa League. But an injured duo is causing concern.
Thanks to a hat trick from Vincenzo Grifo, Bundesliga club SC Freiburg celebrated its second win in the group stage of the Europa League. The Breisgauer team beat Serbian runner-up FK TSC Backa Topola 3-1 (0-1) on Thursday evening. After Nemanja Petrovic had put the hosts in the lead (13th minute), captain Grifo turned the game around: first the Italian international converted a hand penalty (49th), then he scored with a direct free kick (59th), before completing his hat-trick with a made another goal (73rd) perfect.
SC Freiburg takes a big step towards the knockout round
With this success, Freiburg took a big step towards the knockout rounds. However, the injuries to Roland Sallai and Maximilian Philipp, who had to be substituted in the first half, dampened the joy. Coach Christian Streich’s team now has six points in Group A.