Pejcinovic scores a hat trick and loses as Freiburg beats Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga

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Wolfsburg's Dzenan Pejcinovic, left, celebrates with Yannick Gerhardt after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and SC Freiburg in Wolfsburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Darius Simka/dpa via AP)

Freiburg's Philipp Treu celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and SC Freiburg in Wolfsburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Darius Simka/dpa via AP) — Wolfsburg's Dzenan Pejcinovic, left, celebrates with Yannick Gerhardt after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and SC Freiburg in Wolfsburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Darius Simka/dpa via AP)

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11:48 AM on Saturday, December 20

The Associated Press

WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) — Dzenan Pejcinovic scored a hat trick and was still on the losing team as Wolfsburg succumbed to Freiburg's late surge 4-3 in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Pejcinovic hadn't scored in the Bundesliga before but the 20-year-old forward, starting because Mohamed Amoura was away at the Africa Cup of Nations, made his mark with three goals as Wolfsburg exploited defensive errors by Freiburg.

Wolfsburg's own blunders also proved costly as defender Jenson Seelt, on loan from Sunderland, gave away a penalty and diverted a save from goalkeeper Kamil Grabara into his own net.

That allowed Freiburg to level the score twice before substitute Derry Scherhart scored a 78th-minute winner.

Frankfurt's draw

Eintracht Frankfurt ended 2025 in seventh place with one win from its last six games in all competitions, after drawing with Hamburger SV 1-1.

A poor pass across Frankfurt's defense was picked off by Albert Sambi Lokonga to give Hamburg the lead before Hugo Larsson leveled for Frankfurt off Nathaniel Brown's cross.

On-loan Arsenal midfielder Fábio Vieira thought he'd put Hamburg ahead again in the 81st but his counterattack goal was ruled out for a narrow offside on video review.

Undav denied

An offside header from Stuttgart's Deniz Undav in stoppage time was as close as his team and Hoffenheim got in their 0-0 draw, a result which didn't help either team's push for the Champions League places.

András Schäfer scored a dramatic winner at a corner in stoppage time as eighth-placed Union Berlin finally broke down 10-man Cologne for a 1-0 win following Rav van den Berg's earlier red card for handball.

Augsburg and Werder Bremen drew 0-0.

Leipzig can move up to second place with a win over Bayer Leverkusen later Saturday.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer