Undav shines as Stuttgart thump Augsburg; Mainz and Freiburg win

Deniz Undav scored a brace and had an assist as VfB Stuttgart stormed into third place in the Bundesliga with a 5-2 victory at Augsburg to underline their Champions League ambitions on Sunday.

Recalled into the German national team for upcoming World Cup tune-up matches, Undav opened the scoring in the 12th minute after a mistake from Augsburg goalkeeper Finn Dahmen.

Nicolas Nartey set up Tiago Tomás for the second in the 29th before tapping the third himself two minutes later.

Augsburg fought back from Fabian Rieder in the 57th but Undav restored the three-goal lead 60 seconds later with his 18th season goal on the rebound of a shot by Chris Führich that Dahmen had saved.

Anton Kade got the second for Augsburg in the 71st before Undav set up Ermedin Demirović for the fifth in the 83rd.

Stuttgart rebounded well from their mid-week Europa League exit and moved into third place going into the international break, three points ahead of RB Leipzig and Hoffenheim. The top four qualify for the Champions League.

"It wasn't a perfect week, we wanted to show a reaction. We scored at the right time. But we made it unnecessarily exciting in the second half," Undav told streaming portal DAZN.

Freiburg and Mainz meanwhile followed up on reaching the quarter-finals in the Europa League and Conference League with victories earlier Sunday at St Pauli and against Eintracht Frankfurt, respectively.

Freiburg'sMatanović sinks ex-club Pauli

Freiburg's Igor Matanović scored a brace against boyhood club St Pauli who had led from Danel Sinani.

Matanović levelled in the 65th a little accidently when a shot from Vincenzo Grifo deflected into the net off him.

Freiburg had a second from Cyriaque Irié nullified due to offside but they got the winner two minutes later in the 78th when Pauli goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj failed to hold on to a shot from Irié and Matanović tapped home.

"To come back like that shows the lads’ attitude. We’re very, very pleased with the lads’ attitude,” Freiburg coach Julian Schuster said.

Nebel brace gives Mainz a breather

There was also a brace in Mainz from home player Paul Nebel who opened the scoring in the sixth minute with the help of a deflection from defender Arthur Theate.

Frankfurt were level in the 20th from Nathaniel Brown after an initial effort from former Mainz forward Jonathan Burkardt was blocked.

Sheraldo Becker hit the post in the 84th for Mainz before Nebel drilled the winner in the 89th after Frankfurt goalkeeper Michael Zetterer had saved a header from Nelson Weiper.

"The team’s discipline over almost the full 90 minutes, despite their busy schedule, is impressive. The lads are physically up to the task and have coped with the strain primarily on a mental level," Mainz sporting director Niko Bungert said.

What it means

The results mean that Pauli remain third last in the relegation play-off spot, two points behind Cologne who parted ways with coach Lukas Kwasniok on Sunday. Mainz moved six points clear of the bottom three and Augsburg are another point ahead.

Frankfurt remained seventh, eight points behind Bayer Leverkusen in sixth and one point ahead of Freiburg. Seventh place could be enough to play in Europe, depending on who wins the German Cup.