Mladen Petric scored a hat-trick as Hamburg thrashed Cologne to ruin new coach Michael Oenning's first match in charge and end a three-game winless streak.
Petric scored in the 12th minute to open the floodgates before Anis Ben-Hatira made it 2-0 after 32 minutes. Petric struck again in the 38th and 43rd minutes for a 4-0 half-time lead. Mato Jajalo cut the deficit to 4-1 in the 50th minute before Gojko Kacar pushed the lead to 5-1 two minutes later.
Ze Roberto scored a final time for Hamburg from the spot in the 58th minute and Lukas Podolski finished the scoring in the 62nd minute. The home side found the perfect answer to their 6-0 loss last weekend against Bayern Munich to jump to 40 points and seventh place. Cologne came into the game with just one loss in their last six games to remain on 32 points for 11th place.
Petric perfection
Hamburg dominated the match from the beginning and took the lead after 12 minutes. Ben-Hatira turned in from the right side and struck a left-foot blast which Cologne keeper Michael Rensing could only bat into the path of Petric, who slotted home easily. The hosts doubled their cushion 20 minutes later with Ben-Hatira chipping the ball over Rensing from about 18 yards out.
Petric tallied a second time in the 38th minute to make it 3-0 with Hamburg keeper Frank Rost's long ball going to Ruud van Nistelrooy, who played a through ball to Petric and the Croatian beat Rensing with a left foot strike. Petric completed his hat-trick two minutes before the break on a header off Eljero Elia's diagonal cross from the left side.
Cologne pulled one goal back five minutes after the re-start as Jajalo got past two defenders before beating Rost. Hamburg re-established a 5-1 lead in the 52nd minute with Kacar heading home Elia's cross. And Ze Roberto joined the scoring six minutes later from the spot after Petric was taken down in the area.
Cologne tallied a second time in the 62nd minute through Podolski to make it 6-2.