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Andrej Kramaric Scores Four As Hoffenheim Puts Dortmund To The Sword

Andrej Kramaric fired Hoffenheim into next season's Europa League third qualifying round with a four-goal performance against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. 

Despite missing 14 games through injury this season, his four-goal haul saw Kramaric finish the campaign with 12 total. His average of a goal every 118 minutes is the best he has achieved since arriving at the club in January 2016. Kramaric got Hoffenheim rolling with a thunderous strike from outside the box in the eighth minute.  

In what was an abject performance from Dortmund, which finished the season in second place, Kramaric caught Lucien Favre's lackadaisical backline sleeping to score again from 6 yards out in the 30th minute.  

Just two minutes into the second half, the Croatian international completed his second Hoffenheim hat trick, taking advantage of more poor defending to finish off a counterattack. Ihlas Bebou was able to find Kramaric breaking into space on Hoffenheim's left, and he finished past a hapless Roman Bürki after leaving Łukasz Piszczek for dead with a cutback onto his right foot.      

Dortmund's humiliation was complete minutes later as Kramaric secured his first four-goal game in the Bundesliga from the penalty spot. His effort was at a good height for Bürki to save and the keeper got both hands to the shot, but still let it pass underneath him and into the back of the net.  

Favre's side will be disappointed to have finished the season with such a poor display, having challenged Bayern Munich for much of the campaign before falling short in the final weeks. Kramaric and Hoffenheim, on the other hand, won five of the season's final seven games to secure European qualification for 2020-21. 

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