Pejcinovic scores a hat trick and loses as Freiburg beats Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga

WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) — Dzenan Pejcinovic scored a hat trick and was still on the losing team as Wolfsburg succumbed to Freiburg's late surge 4-3 in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Pejcinovic hadn't scored in the Bundesliga before but the 20-year-old forward, starting because Mohamed Amoura was away at the Africa Cup of Nations, made his mark with three goals as Wolfsburg exploited defensive errors by Freiburg.

Wolfsburg's own blunders also proved costly as defender Jenson Seelt, on loan from Sunderland, gave away a penalty and diverted a save from goalkeeper Kamil Grabara into his own net.

That allowed Freiburg to level the score twice before substitute Derry Scherhart scored a 78th-minute winner.

Eintracht Frankfurt ended 2025 in seventh place with one win from its last six games in all competitions, after drawing with Hamburger SV 1-1.

A poor pass across Frankfurt's defense was picked off by Albert Sambi Lokonga to give Hamburg the lead before Hugo Larsson leveled for Frankfurt off Nathaniel Brown's cross.

On-loan Arsenal midfielder Fábio Vieira thought he'd put Hamburg ahead again in the 81st but his counterattack goal was ruled out for a narrow offside on video review.

An offside header from Stuttgart's Deniz Undav in stoppage time was as close as his team and Hoffenheim got in their 0-0 draw, a result which didn't help either team's push for the Champions League places.

András Schäfer scored a dramatic winner at a corner in stoppage time as eighth-placed Union Berlin finally broke down 10-man Cologne for a 1-0 win following Rav van den Berg's earlier red card for handball.

Augsburg and Werder Bremen drew 0-0.

Leipzig can move up to second place with a win over Bayer Leverkusen later Saturday.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Hamburger's Albert Lokonga celebrates after scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Bundesliga soccer match between Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt, in Hamburg, Germany, Saturday Dec. 20, 2025. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

Freiburg's Philipp Treu celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and SC Freiburg in Wolfsburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Darius Simka/dpa via AP)

Wolfsburg's Dzenan Pejcinovic, left, celebrates with Yannick Gerhardt after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and SC Freiburg in Wolfsburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Darius Simka/dpa via AP)

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona State signed football coach Kenny Dillingham to a five-year contract extension that will raise his average annual salary to $7.5 million, a person familiar with the contract told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The deal also will increase Arizona State's salary pool for assistant coaches to $11 million, one of the highest in the Big 12, the person told the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been announced.

Arizona State athletics did not officially announce Dillingham's extension, but posted on X that Dillingham isn't going anywhere in a donation pitch. The deal takes Dillingham out of the running for the top job at Michigan, which fired Sherrone Moore last week.

Dillingham signed a five-year contract extension after leading the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff last season, bumping his salary to $5.8 million the first year of the contract.

The 35-year-Dillingham had become a hot commodity in the coaching market after several high-level jobs opened this year, but said after a win against West Virginia on Nov. 15 that he wasn't going anywhere.

Dillingham's name resurfaced after Moore's firing and he used the link to bolster support for the program and his assistant coaches.

“This profession is volatile and security is a critical piece that is needed to build a program in the climate of chaos,” Dillingham told reporters this week.

Demand for Dillingham rose after he turned around Arizona State's program in a hurry.

The Sun Devils burst onto the national scene in Dillingham's second season a year ago, winning the Big 12 championship — their first conference title since 1996 — while earning a spot in the CFP for the first time.

Injuries hit Arizona State hard this season — notably quarterback Sam Leavitt and All-American Jordyn Tyson — but Dillingham still had his team in contention for a return trip to the Big 12 title game until late in the season.

The Sun Devils finished the regular season 8-4 and will play Duke in the Dec. 31 Sun Bowl.

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FILE - Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham encourages his players prior to an NCAA college football game against West Virginia Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)