FC Augsburg picked up an important win on Friday night, beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 at the WWK Arena thanks to three second-half goals.

Heiko Herrlich made two changes to the side that lost to Hertha 2-1 last time out. Robert Gumny came in at left-back for the injured Mads Pedersen (adductor problems) and Marco Richter replaced Florian Niederlechner.

Gladbach put the pressure on FCA from the start and had an early shot from Florian Neuhaus tipped wide by Rafał Gikiewicz (4’). Lars Stindl’s lob was too high (15’), while Valentino Lazaro missed the target with a good chance after 20 minutes. In the opening stages, Augsburg weren’t able to deal with their opponents’ high press and couldn’t create any dangerous attacking moments.

After 28 minutes, László Bénes had an effort go wide against his parent club. Things got more intense after an hour was played. Felix Uduokhai put a cross across the box towards André Hahn, however his shot was blocked (35’). At the other end, Gladbach broke and won a penalty. Marcus Thuram was brought down and referee Sven Jablonski pointed to the spot. Gikiewicz wasn’t required though, as Lars Stindl’s spot-kick went past the post (38’).

A strong second half earns the win

The Fuggerstädter looked to pose more of an attacking threat for the second half and that desire was immediately rewarded. Ruben Vargas, who came on at half-time, headed home a Daniel Caligiuri corner at the front post (52’). Gladbach kept their heads up and searched for an equaliser. Thuram’s header was kept out by Gikiewicz (63’), but four minutes later the scores were level again - Florian Neuhaus found the back of the net for the visitors with a curling effort. The Foals kept up this pressure and Gikiewicz was again on hand, this time denying Alassane Plea (72’).

FCA were still dangerous themselves in the second half too. Richter failed to test out Sommer in the 75th minute after a quick break. Augsburg’s number 23 then got his goal a minute later. Uduokhai’s ball in for Hahn didn’t make it, and, after a bit of ping pong in the box, the ball fell to Richter’s feet, who duly obliged with a powerful finish (76’). Gladbach continued to throw men forward without much luck and the Fuggerstädter had several chances on the counter to finish the game off. One of those was taken by Hahn, who calmly chipped it over Sommer to secure a 3-1 win (89’).

Augsburg now have 29 points on the board after 25 matchdays. Next up is a trip to SC Freiburg on Sunday, 21st March (18:00 CET).

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