Berlin (AFP) – Augsburg’s Icelandic striker Alfred Finnbogason scored a treble and had a fourth ruled out for offside as he led his team to a crucial 3-0 win over Mainz 05 on Sunday.
Finnbogason put his side ahead in the eighth minute, converting a penalty after Mainz defender Daniel Brosinski’s handball.
He doubled the lead in the 34th minute, again converting from the penalty spot –- and again from a handball.
Mainz’s Moussa Niakhate was the culprit this time around, the lowlight of a tough day for the French defender.
The Icelander’s penalty was his ninth from nine attempts in the Bundesliga. He almost added a third –- this time from general play –- in first-half injury time.
He got his boot on a cross from Konstantinos Stafylidis, but was denied by an excellent save from Mainz goalkeeper Florian Mueller.
However, the striker didn’t have to wait long to get his third, converting a perfectly-weighted assist from Jan Moravek past Mueller. It was his fourth hat-trick since joining Augsburg in 2016.
The Iceland international put a fourth in the net in the 61st minute with a calm flick past the keeper, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
The win gave Augburg a valuable four-point buffer from the relegation zone ahead of the home stretch of the season. They sit 15th, with 16th-placed Stuttgart hosting 14th-placed SC Freiburg later on Sunday.
