FSV Mainz boss Thomas Tuchel admits it is great to see Shinji Okazaki playing in career-best form.
The 27-year old Japanese forward scored a brace in Saturday's 3-2 victory at Hamburg to take his season tally to eight from 15 matches which is his most in a Bundesliga campaign since arriving in Germany with VfB Stuttgart in 2011.
Okazaki, who also became the first Japanese player to score three doubles in Germany, was praised by his manager for the way he has performed since landing at the Coface Arena this past summer.
"At the moment Shinji is exactly the player that we saw in the years that we observed him," Tuchel told Bundesliga.com.
"When we played Stuttgart, we analysed him specifically, his strengths, his clever movement and the work he puts in. It's great that he's now getting his rewards."
In the win over Hamburg, Okazaki also provided an assist for strike partner Nicolai Muller which was his first in 79 Bundesliga appearances.
