Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a hat-trick in a fairytale comeback from an injury break to steer Schalke 04 to a 4-1 win over Hamburg SV on Sunday and boost their chances of Champions League action next season.
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The Dutchman, who had been out with a knee injury since early March, could not have hoped for a better return with Schalke firmly in control of fourth place that leads to the Champions League qualifying rounds.
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Schalke, who have 49 points and are seven behind third-placed Bayer Leverkusen with three games left, terrorised a disoriented Hamburg defence with Huntelaar at the heart of the action from the start.
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Marcell Jansen's fifth-minute header was quickly cancelled out after the striker, nicknamed 'the Hunter', found Michel Bastos at the edge of the box and the Brazilian wrong-footed keeper Rene Adler with a clever low shot.
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Huntelaar then combined with Julian Draxler with a fine overhead kick and completed the swift move, tapping in from close range himself as the Hamburg defence were caught napping yet again.
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The forward connected with a perfect Raffael cross with a diving header to give his team a two-goal cushion before heading in his third when Adler palmed a save on to the forward.
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Hamburg, who have conceded 16 goals in their last five games, are still in the running for a Europa League spot in eighth place on 44.
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The result also leaves Schalke three points ahead of rivals Eintracht Frankfurt, who did themselves no favours with a 0-0 draw at Mainz 05 earlier on Sunday.
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After a dull first half, the home fans had briefly something to celebrate until Mainz's Andreas Ivanschitz's effort was ruled off side.
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Eintracht coach Armin Veh threw two more strikers, Olivier Occean and Srdjan Lakic, into the mix after an hour but the move failed to pay off.
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Mainz, who were without injured striker Adam Szalai, drop to 10th on 40, five points off the Europa League spots.
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Already crowned champions, Bayern Munich also set a Bundesliga record for most points when they moved on to 84 following their 1-0 victory over Freiburg on Saturday.
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Fellow Champions League semifinalists Borussia Dortmund deployed a second-string team to beat Fortuna Dusseldorf 2-1 and stay eight points clear in second place.
To score three goals in a game is always a difficult thing to do so he deserves every kudos he got after the match.