FC Augsburg have secured a third Bundesliga win in a row! Despite going down to ten men in an intense game, Enrico Maaßen’s team scored late on to secure a 3-2 win over FC Schalke 04.

The FCA coach picked the same starting XI as that which began the most recent two fixtures, wins against Werder Bremen and FC Bayern. In doing so, Maaßen placed trust in the attacking formation which rewarded him so much recent success.

This attacking mindset was clear to see from the very start in Gelsenkirchen, as the first cross came in – S04 goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow was able to deal with an Ermedin Demirović cross before Florian Niederlechner was able to tap home (8’). Just a minute later, though, the opener came: Schalke defender Henning Matriciani was only able to head André Hahn’s cross to Demirović, who had time and space to bring the ball down and curl low into the far corner for 1-0.

With the lead spurring them on, the Fuggerstädter pressed forward, taking control in the game and seeking a second. One of these forward advances did eventually give the away side their rewards: Hahn sent Mergim Berisha through, who nudged the ball into the path of the better-positioned Demirović. The summer signing kept his cool in front of goal and doubled both his and Augsburg’s tally for the evening – 2-0.

As the half went on, the game changed slightly. FCA sat back slightly more and allowed Schalke the ball, which ended up giving the home team a way back into the game. A quick interchange of passes on the counter attack gave Simon Terodde a chance, which he took to make it 2-1 just before half time.

Following the interval the two teams started matching each other and preventing each other from creating any major chances. The first chance of note in the half fell the way of Berisha, but he was unable to convert Demirović’s tantalising cross (57’). Five short minutes later, Berisha was involved once more, this time forcing Schwolow into a save with a long-range effort. In a strong period for FCA, what happened next came against the run of play: Tom Krauß’s deflected effort from inside the penalty area gave Schalke an equaliser.

Hectic end to the game: Red card and late winner

The equaliser sparked a crazy end to the game. Lots of little fouls created a very stop-start affair, but the home side’s equaliser gave them a lot of confidence, which then grew even more as they gained a man’s advantage: Berisha was shown a second yellow card fpr a foul on Maya Yoshida, meaning FCA had to play the final 20 minutes with ten men.

Despite being a man down, Enrico Maaßen’s side did not lose heart and reacted well. Robert Gumny won the ball back well down the right and crossed perfectly for Hahn, who headed home to restore Augsburg’s lead and make it 3-2 with 13 minutes to go! The seven minutes of added time after the 90 were long and nail-biting, but FCA defended courageously and got the three points over the line at the final whistle – a third win in a row for FCA!

This Saturday sees a return to the WWK ARENA, as VfL Wolfsburg visit Augsburg on October 8th (15:30 CEST).

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