his second of the season coming on as a substitute against an in-form Borussia Dortmund side in a 3–1 loss. On 3 October, Kalou scored his third goal of the season, the opener in a 3–0 win over Hamburger SV. He scored a brace on 27 October against 2. Bundesliga side FSV Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal second round in a 2–1 win, scoring the winner from the spot in extra time. His goal-scoring form continued on 6 November when he recorded his first hat-trick for Hertha in a 3–1 win against Hannover 96. Kalou scored the final goal in a convincing 4–0 win over Darmstadt 98 on 12 December, lifting Hertha up to third in the Bundesliga. Kalou scored again the next weekend against Mainz 05, bringing his season tally to nine heading into the Christmas break, explaining that having "time to set up with the team" was important to his success in the first half while setting a goal of reaching the Champions League for his club. With his goal on 30 January 2016 at Werder Bremen, Kalou curiously became the first player to have double-digit goal-scoring seasons in the Premier League, Ligue 1, and the Bundesliga. Maintaining their third place until April, Hertha gained only one point from their final five matches, falling all the way to seventh place. Kalou scored 14 goals in the Bundesliga that year, finishing as Hertha's top scorer. Kalou played in Hertha's brief Europa League stay against Brøndby IF, as well as their first round Pokal match against Jahn Regensburg, but did not feature in the Bundesliga initially for Pál Dárdai. An injury to Vladimír Darida vacated a spot initially for Valentin Stocker, but when Stocker picked up a three-match ban for a straight red card at Borussia Dortmund, it was Kalou who filled the hole in the attacking midfield, making his season debut on 22 October against FC Köln. On 4 November, Kalou emphatically ended his scoreless start to the season, picking up a hat trick against Borussia Mönchengladbach in a 3–0 victory, moving his side temporarily into third place. On 15 March 2017, Kalou signed a contract extension at Hertha, keeping him at the Olympiastadion until 2019, with Kalou adding "I'm really happy in Berlin and still have a lot to achieve with Hertha. I want to help build on the progress the team has made in recent years." On 4