FCA defeated by Hoffenheim

FC Augsburg lost their first match after the Christmas break 2-0 to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. The away side's goals came from Sandro Wagner and Andrej Kramaric. FCA head coach Manuel Baum made two changes to the team that started in the 1-1 draw in Dortmund, with Ja-Cheol Koo and Philipp Max coming in for Dominik Kohr and Georg Teigl. Raul Bobadilla was also back in the squad after a long period out with injury. Furthermore, the fans-favourite extended his contract with the club until 2020 prior to kick-off, while Jan Moravek, who likewise signed a deal to keep him in Augsburg until 2020, celebrated his 100th Bundesliga appearance. FCA found themselves under pressure from the outset and spent much of their time in their own half. This was not helped by several misplaced passes that allowed Hoffenheim to break quickly. However it was the hosts who had the first opportunity of the game following a corner. TSG initially cleared the ball away but it then landed straight at the feet of Daniel Baier, who did not hesitate and hit it from 19 metres out but he could not hit the target. Former Hoffenheim man Jonathan Schmid beat his opposite number down the left-hand side in the 20th minute and ended up being stopped only by a poor challenge from Philipp Ochs. Schmid took the resulting free-kick himself and crossed it into the box, where Dong-Won Ji could only head it straight into the arms of keeper Oliver Baumann. Augsburg were very disciplined both in defence and midfield, so much so that Julian Nagelsmann's side posed almost no threat to the Fuggerstädter's goal. However it could have been a tricky moment for FCA when Ja-Cheol Koo fouled Kerem Demirbay just outside the box in the 28th minute but Hoffenheim could not convert as it clattered the Augsburg wall. Marwin Hitz then calmly dealt with a shot from Steven Zuber and shortly afterwards, former FCA man Kevin Vogt was forced to step in to prevent the hosts from taking a lead after a quick counterattack. Die Kraichgauer got off to a lightning start in the second half. After FCA lost the ball in midfield, the away side countered through Nadiem Amiri and Sandro Wagner. The latter powered through into the box and finished passed Hitz to give Nagelsmann's men the lead. Hoffenheim began to take the upper hand after that and looked threatening on several occasions. Hoffenheim countered again in the 64th minute and after a low cross into the box from Mark Uth, Andrej Kramaric got his foot to it as he tapped in TSG's second of the afternoon. Despite this setback, Augsburg did not give up and threw everything at Hoffenheim, led by substitutes Raul Bobadilla and Halil Altintop. Baumann was forced into a fine save to keep out Schmid in the 87th minute after he had hit a nice low strike. Ji turned and had a go despite being under pressure but he too could not find the target. It finished 2-0 as FCA were defeated in their first game of 2017 at the WWK ARENA.