FC Augsburg suffered a heavy defeat in their opening fixture of the 2022/23 Bundesliga season, losing 4-0 at home against Freiburg. The visitors netted all four of their goals after the break. 

Head coach Enrico Maaßen named an unchanged starting XI following last weekend’s 4-0 win against Lohne in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. As our coach prepared to make his Bundesliga debut on the sidelines, three new signings – Maximilian Bauer, Elvis Rexhbecaj and Ermedin Demirović – were set to get their first league start for the side. 

While Demirović made the move from Freiburg to FCA this summer, with Michael Gregoritsch going the other way. Ahead of kick-off, the club officially said farewell to the Austria international. Alfred Finnbogason and Jan Moravek, whose contracts weren’t renewed over the summer, were unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts. They will receive an official farewell at a later date. 

First chance falls to Caligiuri

FCA started well into the game, looking to direct play down the left wing. The first chance fell to Daniel Caligiuri, as he beat Christian Günter to send a shot just wide of the target (11’). Six minutes later, Gregoritsch popped up in front of his former teammate, Rafał Gikiewicz, but the attack was then blown offside. 

After colliding with Günter, referee Bastian Dankert went down injured and needed to receive treatment. He was able to continue on after a short break in play. Freiburg hit the post in the 33rd minute, with captain Günter sending a shot crashing off the woodwork. Demirović (37‘) and Maximilian Eggestein (45‘+3) both also missed the target, as the scoreline remained deadlocked at the break.

Quickfire double for Freiburg

Just seconds after the restart, Freiburg opened the scoring through Gregoritsch (46’). A minute later, Vincenzo Grifo placed a free-kick into the top corner, out of Gikiewicz’s reach (47’). Roland Sallai nearly made it 3-0 for the visitors just nine minutes later, but his goal was disallowed due to an offside decision. Instead, it was Matthias Ginter who netted Freiburg’s third goal of the day, volleying home after a free kick (61’). 

Maaßen brought on Ricardo Pepi in the 75th minute, but he wasn’t able to inspire FCA’s attack to mount a comeback. Freiburg’s Ritsu Doan made it 4-0 in the 78th minute, slotting a low shot into the bottom corner. Pepi nearly scored a consolation goal for the hosts, but missed the target late on (82’). 

Next up, FCA will travel to face Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Saturday, 13th August (15:30 CEST). 

FCA: Gikiewicz – Bauer, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai – Caligiuri (59’ Pedersen), Gruezo, Rexhbecaj (75’ Pepi), Iago (83’ Gumny) – Maier – Hahn (59‘ Jensen), Demirović (59’ Niederlechner)

Goals: 0-1 Gregoritsch (46‘), 0-2 Grifo (47‘), 0-3 Ginter (61‘), 0-4 Doan (78‘)

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