FC Augsburg suffered a heavy loss in Mainz on Friday evening, falling to a 4-1 defeat. After a poor performance during the first half, Augsburg looked as if they would be able to get back into the game, but this hope was quickly extinguished

Head coach Markus Weinzierl made three changes to the line-up following last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Arminia Bielefeld. Iago, Carlos Gruezo and Sergio Córdova all started in place of Mads Pedersen, Tobias Strobl and Andi Zeqiri (all on the bench). 

FCA were on the back foot right from the start, as Rafał Gikiewicz was called upon to deny Jonny Burkardt for the first time (2’). Minutes later, Mainz scored their first of the night. Robert Gumny failed to clear a cross from Silvan Widmer, as Karim Onisiwo had the space to net the opener (10’). Five minutes later, the hosts were celebrating once again, as Burkardt won the ball and found Stefan Bell, who nutmegged Gikiewicz from a tight angle (15’).

Mainz continued to look for opportunities to attack, and their efforts were rewarded with a third. Onisiwo was able to curl a cross to the back post where Burkardt headed home to make it 3-0 in the 26th minute. FCA struggled to find their way into the game and recorded few chances on goal. The Zerofivers could have added to their scoreline ahead of the break, had it not been for two strong saves from Gikiewicz against Onisiwo (35’) and Burkardt (40’).

Zeqiri gets FCA on the board – Burkardt’s quick reply

Weinzierl made two changes at half-time, bringing on Strobl and Zeqiri for Gumny and Córdova. FCA started well into the second half, playing with pace and looking to attack. However, this increased pressure failed to result in many clear-cut chances for the visitors, as they were limited to just one chance in the opening 15 minutes of the half through Ruben Vargas, who sent his shot over the crossbar (56’).

André Hahn then found Zeqiri with a cross to get FCA on the board and resurrect hopes of mounting a comeback (69’). However, the hosts responded instantly as Onisiwo found Burkardt, who netted his second of the night (71’). In the closing minutes, both Onisiwo (82’) and Aaron (89’) came close to adding to Mainz’s lead, whereas Vargas had a shot saved by Zentner down the other end (84’). 

FCA’s next match is coming up on Wednesday (27th October, 18:30 CEST), as they face VfL Bochum in the second round of the DFB-Pokal. Next Sunday (31st October, 15:30 CEST), they will host VfB Stuttgart on matchday 10 in the Bundesliga. 

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