Ibisevic hits hat-trick as Hoffenheim crush Hertha

Hoffenheim striker Vedad Ibisevic showed last season's cruciate knee operation is behind him with a first-half hat-trick in the 5-1 humiliation of bottom side Hertha Berlin on Sunday.

Hoffenheim's striker Vedad Ibisevic (L) heads the ball against Hertha Berlin's midfielder Lennart Hartmann during their German first division Bundesliga football match in the southern German city of Sinsheim. Ibisevic showed last season's cruciate knee operation is behind him with a first-half hat-trick in the 5-1 humiliation of bottom side Hertha Berlin.

Lucien Favre's position as Hertha coach looks increasingly precarious after his side slumped again following last Sunday's 4-0 hammering at home to Freiburg.

The 25-year-old Ibisevic, the league's top-scorer going into January's winter break before his knee injury struck, needed just 21 minutes to wrap up his hat-trick as he marked his first goals in the league this season.

"In the last few games I hadn't scored, but neither had I played badly," said Ibisevic after his side's seventh game of the season.

"Today the goals came back by themselves, I played with a new pair of shoes and I am delighted that I scored three goals, really delighted."

Having smashed home his first shot from 15 metres out after barely a minute, Ibisevic struck with a header on four minutes and again on 21 minutes as he was twice left virtually unmarked in the Hertha penalty area.

Berlin's Raffael pulled back a goal with a direct free-kick right on the stroke of half-time, but Hoffenheim's Nigeria striker Chinedu Obasi then netted in the 58th minute before Carlos Eduardo struck a penalty in the 62nd minute.

The win puts Hoffenheim third behind leaders Hamburg and second-placed Leverkusen while Hertha are bottom with just three points from seven games.

Freiburg also secured their third win in four league games when they routed Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-0.

On Saturday, Mladen Petric scored 18 minutes from time to earn a 1-0 win for Hamburg over Bayern Munich to end the German giants' five-match winning streak and leave them seventh in the league, trailing their northern rivals by six points.

Hamburg have 17 points from their seven games and lead Jupp Heynckes' Bayer Leverkusen on goal difference after the latter bagged a 1-0 win at Cologne thanks to a late effort from Simon Rolfes.

Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia saluted his side for making amends after a German Cup loss on penalties in midweek at third division Osnabrueck.

"They know they slipped up in the Cup and this was a great riposte," said Labbadia as Hamburg ended a three-game winless run.

Bayern, who face Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday, had been seeking to go top for the first time in some 500 days with a win in Hamburg, coupled with a hoped-for loss for Leverkusen but instead Munich left empty handed.

Germany international forward Mario Gomez had hoped to make the difference for the visitors from the south after coming on as sub after the break.

Instead it was he who allowed former Bayern veteran Ze Roberto to go down the wing and find Petric ghosting in ahead of defender Philipp Lahm, caught napping in the Bayern box.

Reigning champions Wolfsburg showed their star has not faded with a 4-2 win over Hanover to leap back into contention on 12 points, level with Werder Bremen, 3-0 winners over Mainz, and one clear of Bayern.

The surprise champions have blown hot and cold this campaign, suffering three defeats for as many wins, and had slid down into mid-table ahead of Wednesday's Champions League confrontation with Manchester United.

Schalke stand fourth on 13 points after Peruvian forward Jefferson netted the only goal away to local rivals and former European champions Dortmund, the South American firing home a left-foot strike following good work by Halil Altintop before an 80,000 crowd.

Elsewhere, Stuttgart ended a four-match winless run with a 3-0 triumph at Eintracht Frankfurt. Table