Freiburg made a statement on the opening day of the Bundesliga season with a convincing 4-1 victory over Werder Bremen .
Yuito Suzuki was the star of the show, scoring a hat-trick, while Igor Matanovic also found the net as Freiburg produced an impressive attacking display. For Bremen, meanwhile, the result exposed several weaknesses that captain Marco Friedl believes must be addressed quickly.
"We imagined the start to the season differently,"Friedl admitted after the defeat.
The Werder captain felt Freiburg were the better side for much of the game and criticised the way his team conceded the opening goals.
"Freiburg dominated the entire game more. We must not concede the first two goals in that way," Friedl said. Werder were competitive during the opening stages but gradually lost control of the match.
"We only defended well and played along for the first half hour," Friedl explained. He was particularly frustrated by Freiburg's opening goal, when Suzuki was allowed to head home from a corner. "It can't be that the smallest Freiburg player gets to the ball at the corner and scores."
Despite the disappointing result, Friedl stressed that there is still plenty of time to turn things around. "We have to address things honestly. It is the first matchday."
The Werder captain also expects further movement in the transfer market. Bremen are still waiting for the return of key players Mitchell Weiser and Felix Agu , while Jens Stage suffered an injury shortly before the start of the season. "Jens Stage cannot be replaced, but we have to try,"Friedl said.
For Freiburg, the afternoon belonged to Suzuki. The Japanese forward scored three times to complete his first Bundesliga hat-trick and was delighted to celebrate the achievement in front of the home supporters.
"I'm very happy. It felt amazing to score three goals here for the fans at home,"Suzuki said.
The 23-year-old admitted he could hardly believe what had happened.
"I couldn't believe I scored a hat-trick. I really want to thank my teammates. I only scored because of my team today."
Suzuki also highlighted the work Freiburg have done together over a longer period, suggesting their understanding on the pitch is beginning to pay off.
"We've been talking a lot since the beginning of last season, to understand each other better and to create moments like today."
Matanovic was equally pleased with Freiburg's start to the campaign.
"For the first game of the season, we are very satisfied. We carried the momentum from the last few friendly matches into today and also won with a good number of goals. It was a great game."
However, the striker also identified one area that Freiburg need to improve. After dominating for much of the match, they allowed Bremen to pull a goal back late on.
"We have to criticise the fact that we became a little tired in the final 20 minutes. That's why we conceded a goal."
Matanovic also revealed that his assist for Suzuki's fourth goal was pure instinct.
"I knew Suzuki was there for the fourth goal - I didn't see him. I'm an instinctive footballer, so it was instinct to play the ball into the middle to him."
The combination between the two Freiburg attackers could prove important throughout the season, with Matanovic particularly pleased to see his teammate complete his hat-trick.
"I'm happy for him that he was able to score a hat-trick today. We understand each other very well on the pitch."
