FC Augsburg were beaten 2-1 by Leipzig in the opening game of the Bundesliga’s 21st matchday of the season. 2-0 down at the break, the Fuggerstädters made things interesting again in the closing stages but left empty handed in the end. 

Heiko Herrlich made two changes to last weekend’s starting XI against Wolfsburg. Felix Uduokhai missed out with illness and was replaced by Reece Oxford. Marek Suchý came into the side while Florian Niederlechner started on the bench. 
FCA began on a freezing cold night in Leipzig with an attacking 3-4-3 formation and pushed Leipzig high up the pitch. The Saxony side had an early sight at goal from an Nkunku free-kick but didn’t manage to trouble the Augsburg goal too much more. Second-place Leipzig did begin to take more ad more control of the game as time went on, but still failed to create any clear-cut chances in the first half hour. 

Olmo scores on second attempt – Nkunku doubles 

Despite being compact at the back, FCA struggled to find any rhythm going forward, which only invited the hosts’ pressure. 33 minutes in, and the referee was pointing to the penalty spot. Dani Olmo stepped up for Leipzig, but his shot was saved by Gikiewicz. The FCA goalkeeper, however, was adjudged to moved forward off his line too early, which led referee Felix Zwayer to order a retake. Olmo hit his second attempt with more power and beat Gikiewicz to put his side ahead (38’). 

Not long after, FCA suffered another setback. In a one-on-one with Gikiewicz, Poulsen opened up the goal by sliding the ball across to Nkunku who tapped the ball home, giving Leipzig a 2-0 lead at half time. 

Pedersen’s run wins a penalty – Caligiuri obliges

FCA came out for the second half with the intent to attack, but lacked threat in the final third. The difference from the first half was that Leipzig too struggled to turn any possession into dangerous attacks – which led to something of a stalemate in play. 

In the closing stages, however, Mads Pedersen made things interesting again with a superb solo effort, taking on two players in the Leipzig penalty area and winning the spotkick for his team. Daniel Caligiuri hit the ball past Gulacsi powerfully, halving FCA’s deficit. Following the Augsburg goal, it was Leipzig who upped the ante again, and came close to swiftly re-establishing their cushion on several occasions. In the final seconds, with Gikiewicz up in the opposing penalty area, Gumny was just inches away from the dramatic equaliser.

Despite their efforts, the Fuggerstädter left the pitch empty handed, beaten 2-1. On Sunday (21 Feb), FCA host Bayer 04 Leverkusen in an early kick-off (13:30 CET). 

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