FCA lose in Mainz

On the 20th Bundesliga matchday, FC Augsburg lost 2-0 to 1. FSV Mainz 05, the hosts' goals came from Levin Öztunali (31') and Jairo Samperio (62'). FCA coach Manuel Baum made three changes to his side that won 3-2 against Werder Bremen last week. Tim Rieder, Konstantinos Stafylidis and Daniel Baier (back from Achilles problem) started in place of Dominik Kohr (suspended), Halil Altintop und Ja-Cheol Koo (ankle injury). For FCA youth product Tim Rieder, it was his full debut. The opening stages of the game were mostly played in the centre of the park, with the hosts starting a little better, while FCA defended well to hold off the "Zerofivers'" attack. The 16th minute saw the first chance of the match, as Jhon Cordoba got through into the left-hand side of the box and fired the ball into the six-yard box. Fortunately for FCA, Martin Hinteregger was well-positioned and cleared as Hitz was beaten. At the other end of the pitch, Daniel Baier tried his luck from distance but couldn't trouble Mainz goalkeeper Jonas Lössl with his effort. Five minutes later, Baier was at it again with another shot from outside the box. This time, he was a little closer to goal and tested Lössl more, but still could beat the ‘keeper. The game's first goal came in the 31st minute. Mainz counter quickly from an FCA corner with Cordoba, the striker found Öztunali on the run who headed past Hitz from 10 yards. After the goal, the hosts kept the pressure up while FCA searched for an answer to their goal. However, Baum's men couldn't find an equaliser before half time so the teams went into the break a goal down. Augsburg started the second period better, as they looked to get forward more. Despite the increased pressure, FCA couldn't find a goal to bring them back on level terms. Instead of an Augsburg goal, Mainz doubled their lead as Jairo scored from the spot in the 62nd minute. Before this, Cordoba was brought down by Hitz after running through on goal. The goalkeeper also received a yellow card. With a comfortable 2-0 lead, Mainz took the tempo out of the game, denying FCA possession to get back into the game. In the 81st minute, FCA could have sparked a late comeback if Bobadilla's header from 11 yards went in, but the ball landed safely into the arms of Lössl. With a minute of normal time to go, Stafylidis fired a free kick on goal, but Lössl wasn't deceived by the bounce. Due to a long break after the penalty was awarded to give Hitz medical attention, the referee added on seven minute of stoppage time. However, there was no action in this extra time and FCA had to travel back to Augsburg without any points.