FC Augsburg suffered their first defeat of the Rückrunde in their second game, losing 3-1 against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday afternoon. Despite taking an early lead, FCA were unable to keep Dortmund at bay. 

Head coach Heiko Herrlich made no changes to the line-up that won 2-1 against Union Berlin last weekend. 

FCA began the game by sitting back and defending deep in their own half. The visitors were able to get off several shots in the opening minutes, with Jadon Sancho (7’) and Erling Haaland (9’) both narrowly missing the target. Rafał Gikiewicz also made a save to deny Julian Brandt (8’). FCA then came back with a clinical counter-attack, as Iago found André Hahn wide open in the box. The latter had plenty of time to control the ball before burying it in the back of the net to open the scoring (10’). 

Haaland misses from the spot - Delaney equalises

BVB were looking for a timely equaliser, but an attempt from Raphael Guerreiro sailed over the bar (18’). VAR then alerted referee Patrick Ittrich about a handball in the box, as Iago was judged to have handled the ball after being hit with a shot from close range. Ittrich pointed to the spot, and Haaland stepped up to take it. However, the Norwegian smashed his shot off the crossbar (21’). Minutes later, Gikiewicz kept out a header from Haaland (23’). 

But, the FCA goalkeeper was beaten minutes later after Thomas Delaney headed home a free-kick from Marco Reus (26’). After an intense opening 30 minutes, FCA saw out the rest of the half by continuing to defend deep and deny BVB any further chances. The hosts would come close shortly before the break, as Marco Richter sent a shot just wide after picking off a misplaced pass from Brandt (43’). 

Sancho puts BVB ahead– Uduokhai own goal

FCA stuck to their defensive approach in the second half and Dortmund struggled initially to find space in behind the defensive line. Felix Uduokhai made a last-ditch clearance to deny Reyna (54'), before Hahn headed narrowly wide at the other end (58'). But despite their defensive efforts, FCA were unable to deny Dortmund taking the lead moments later when Guerreiro sent the ball through for Sancho, who slotted past Gikiewicz into the far corner from the edge of the box (63’).

Herrlich reacted immediately, introducing Ruben Vargas, Fredrik Jensen and Michael Gregoritsch to provide fresh legs in attack (65'). But the changes proved fruitless. Dortmund continued their push forward and punished a careless loss of possession deep in the FCA half; Haaland, delivering a ball across goal, where Uduokhai unintentionally diverted the ball into the back of his own net.

The goal sealed a 3-1 win for BVB, avenging Augsburg’s 2-0 win in this fixture during the Hinrunde. Next Saturday (6th February, 15:30 CET), FCA play host to VfL Wolfsburg.

Unsere FCA-APP

Jetzt herunterladen!