Arnautovic treble sinks Hoffenheim

Marko Arnautovic scored a hat-trick as Werder Bremen closed in on the UEFA Europa League places with a dominant 4-1 victory at Hoffenheim. Sebastian Prodl gave Bremen the lead after just 21 minutes before Arnautovic registered his first goal in the 29th minute. Sejad Salihovic pulled a goal back five minutes after the break but Arnautovic confirmed a comfortable away win with two more successful efforts in the last 20 minutes. Bremen moved into eighth place - two points shy of a UEFA Europa League spot - with Hoffenheim remaining in 16th place courtesy of a fourth straight defeat. Bremen grabbed the lead in the 21st minute from a set-piece as Kevin de Bruyne's free-kick met Prodl, who jumped above Joselu to send a looping header over Hoffenheim goalkeeper Koen Casteels. Arnautovic doubled the advantage just eight minutes later after Daniel Williams lost the ball deep inside his own territory. Arnautovic played a one-two with De Bruyne before beating Casteels with his left foot. Bremen had a number of chances during the remainder of the half, including a counter-attack in the 45th minute that saw De Bruyne fire well wide of the target instead of passing to a team-mate. Hoffenheim pulled a goal back five minutes after the break as Salihovic beat Bremen keeper Sebastian Mielitz to his far corner with a left-footed shot. The hosts had a number of chances but could not convert any, with Joselu's volley flying just over the crossbar. Bremen missed a couple of chances in the 72nd minute as both Lukas Schmitz and Theo Gebre Selassie came close. But Arnautovic re-established a two-goal lead a minute later with a curling free-kick that flew over the wall and dipped into the top-left corner. And the Austrian completed his hat-trick in the 79th minute, running onto a through ball from Joseph Akpala and chipping it past Casteels. From : Fifa