Berlin beat Hannover 3-1 in German Bundesliga

Berlin edged Hannover 3-1 to secure their sixth win of the season thanks to Salomon Kalou's hat trick at the opener of the 12th round in the German Bundesliga on Friday.

Salomon Kalou's three goals wrapped the win for Berlin on the road as harmless Hannover were only able to score from the penalty spot.

After a slow start by both teams, Berlin broke the deadlock with 33 minutes into the game after a fast break. Genki Haraguchi set up with a square pass for Kalou, who slotted home between two Hannover defenders from inside the box. Meanwhile, Hannover lacked in penetration and failed to pose any threat for Berlin's defense in the first half.

The hosts picked up the pace after the restart but Berlin shocked Hannover with the two-goal lead against the run of the game. Hannover caused a turnover deep in Berlin's territory allowing Vladimir Darida to pass into path of Kalou, who overcame custodian Ron-Robert Zieler one-on-one into the far post corner with 60 minutes played.

Hannover reduced the arrears 10 minutes later as Marvin Plattenhardt brought down Uffe Bech inside the box, allowing Hiroshi Kiyotake to slot home from the spot into the bottom left corner.

However, Berlin killed the game with a foul play penalty at the 88th minute that was converted by Kalou, who reaped his first Bundesliga hat trick.

With the result, Berlin climb from the 6th to the 4th place for now whereas Hannover stay on the 14th place of the table.

The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: front-runners Bayern Munich see bottom team Stuttgart, Leverkusen host Cologne, Monchengladbach encounter newly promoted Ingolstadt, Hoffenheim play Frankfurt, Mainz face Wolfsburg and newly promoted Darmstadt clash with Hamburg. Endi