FCA lose 1-0 to Stuttgart in first game of the year

FC Augsburg were beaten 1-0 by VfB Stuttgart in the final game of Matchday 16 of the Bundesliga. At a sold-out WWK ARENA on Sunday evening, the visitors were just the more clinical side in an otherwise even encounter.

For the first home game of 2025, Robert Gumny replaced the unwell Marius Wolf on the right. Gumny therefore made his first start of the season. FCA head coach Jess Thorup also made a change in goal, as Finn Dahmen made his first Bundesliga appearance of the campaign.

He was at the centre of things straight away. Former Augsburg man Ermedin Demirovic headed a Maximilian Mittelstädt cross towards goal (5’). Dahmen stretched to keep it out and prevent FCA from falling behind early on. The game then developed into a hard-fought battle, and Augsburg looked to push forward on the freshly-laid pitch.

FCA had their first good chances towards the end of the first half. While Frank Onyeka’s first-time shot from range went well wide (36’), it was Samuel Essende who seriously threatened the Stuttgart goal for the first time. His powerful effort went narrowly wide of VfB ‘keeper Alexander Nübel’s goal, but FCA continued to pile on the pressure and had a huge chance for the returning Gumny from close range (40’). Thorup had already had to make a change before this. Maximilian Bauer went off with light-headedness, and FCA academy product Noahkai Banks came on for his first-team debut.

Undav opens the scoring

The FCA defence continued to hold firm at the start of the second period, and it was again Thorup’s side who were creating good chances, including through Kristijan Jakić (56’). As the game went on though, Stuttgart began to look more dangerous, which led to a very open encounter at the sold-out WWK ARENA. In the 65th minute, VfB showed their individual quality as Angelo Stiller found substitute Deniz Undav with a ball over the top, and he made it 1-0 at the second attempt. After a VAR check for offside, referee Daniel Schlager awarded the goal. The VfB striker had also caught Dahmen on the foot.

Fredrik Jensen came on late on to make his return from a groin injury. FCA went on the hunt for an equaliser, but there were few chances in the final stages and last season’s Bundesliga runners-up Stuttgart held onto their lead. The Fuggerstädter therefore began the year with a 1-0 defeat.

FCA’s next match will be on Wednesday (20:30 CET), when they travel to Union Berlin on Matchday 17. Augsburg now sit 13th in the table with 16 points.

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