Claude-Maurice hat-trick fires FCA to victory in Gladbach

Alexis Claude-Maurice became the first FC Augsburg player to score a Bundesliga hat-trick in one half to secure a 3-0 win away to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Bundesliga matchday 23. The Foals’ keeper Jonas Omlin received an early red card, which meant Jess Thorup's team played around an hour of Saturday’s contest with a man advantage.

After going six consecutive matches unbeaten, FCA head coach Jess Thorup saw little reason to significantly change his starting line-up in comparison with the previous game against Leipzig. The only alteration saw Phillip Tietz replace Samuel Essende up top, while Keven Schlotterbeck made his return to the squad following absence due to illness last time out.

The fans inside BORUSSIA-PARK, including 500 travelling FCA supporters, had to wait a while for things to get going after a seven-minute delay to kick-off as a result of heavy traffic around the stadium. However, when the first whistle did sound, a lively affair got underway. Both teams looked to attack early on, although clear-cut chances were few and far between. A long-range effort from Phillip Tietz on 25 minutes led to the first moment of concern for the home goalkeeper Jonas Omlin. However, the 28th minute was when things really got interesting. A punt forward by Finn Dahmen was knocked down by Tietz before Nico Elvedi failed to put enough behind his attempted back-pass. Fredrik Jensen stole in and got to the ball first, before being brought down by the on-rushing Omlin just outside the area. The referee wasted no time in showing a red card, which meant midfielder Kevin Stöger had to make way for replacement goalkeeper Tobias Sippel. 

Despite FCA’s numerical advantage, it was the hosts who threatened the most before the break. Ko Itakura’s header from a corner forced a spectacular save from Dahmen, who then turned it into a triple save from rebounds for Joe Scally and then Elvedi (36’). He had to be at his best again shortly after, staying on his feet for as long as possible after a one-two had put Robin Hack through on goal and successfully blocking the ball behind. It wasn’t until the closing stages of the half that Augsburg started to gain more control and make their man advantage felt, albeit without testing Sippel.

The Claude-Maurice Show after the break

The game was only being played in one half after the change of ends, and there was one player in particular who caught the eye. Alexis Claude-Maurice kept finding gaps in the Gladbach defence, and after being played in behind by Jeffrey Gouweleeuw in the 55th minute, the summer signing slotted home to open the scoring. Just moments later, the Frenchman was at it again, collecting the ball from a short corner and firing a left-footed shot through the crowded box and into the back of the net to make it 2-0 (61’). While second-half substitute Steve Mounié wasn’t able to keep a promising header on target (68’), Claude-Maurice continued to demonstrate clinical finishing. In the 70th minute, he received the ball from Dimitris Giannoulis, skipped past two Borussia defenders and curled the ball inside the far post to complete a 15-minute hat-trick, the club’s first in the Bundesliga since Alfred Finnbogason in 2019.

With a comfortable lead now behind them against the deflated ten men of Borussia, FCA commanded the remaining 20 minutes to see out a deserved and record-breaking victory: the Fuggerstädter are unbeaten in seven consecutive top-flight games for the very first time. They will be looking to extend that run to eight matches next Sunday, 2nd March (17:30 CET), when SC Freiburg are the visitors to the WWK ARENA.

Unsere FCA-APP

Jetzt herunterladen!