BERLIN, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Freiburg jumped into second place in the Bundesliga before the FIFA World Cup break, after Vincenzo Grifo's hat-trick paved the way for a 4-1 victory over ten-man Union Berlin on Sunday.

The Breisgauer made a perfect start on home soil as Grifo opened the scoring with a penalty in the fourth minute.

Grifo wrapped up his brace only two minutes later after he traded passes with Michael Gregoritsch before finishing the job.

Union had the chance to halve the deficit in the tenth minute, but Robin Knoche hammered a penalty onto the woodwork.

Things went from bad to worse in the 19th minute when Diogo Leite received his marching orders after a foul on Ritsu Doan inside the box. Grifo stepped up and converted the subsequent penalty to seal his first-ever Bundesliga hat-trick in the 20th minute.

Union defended deep with ten men, whereas Freiburg benefitted from their numerical advantage and made it 4-0 after Gregoritsch finished off Doan's good build-up work before the half-time whistle.

In the second half, chances were at premium as Freiburg dominated possession without doing damage.

Union were still able to score a consolation in the closing stages, as Sven Michel kept his nerves from the penalty spot and beat Freiburg goalkeeper Mark Flekken into the corner.

"I have never scored a hat-trick in the Bundesliga, and when you score three goals it must be one of the greatest games of your career. The red card for Union played into our hands of course. It is great to round off the year like this," said Grifo.

Elsewhere, Eintracht Frankfurt's three-game winning streak came to an end, but the Eagles will still spend Christmas in the Bundesliga's top four after sharing the spoils with rivals Mainz. Jonathan Burkardt's first-half goal wasn't enough for Mainz as Frankfurt's Randal Kolo Muani restored parity in the second half to snatch a draw on the road. Enditem

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