Borussia Dortmund have suffered another setback after their disappointing exit from the Europa League. At the end of the 24th match day of the Bundesliga, BVB only managed to draw 1-1 (1-0) at FC Augsburg.
BVB took the lead in the first half through Thorgan Hazard (35′), after the break Noah Sarenren Bazee, who came on as a substitute, went out for the Fuggerstadt team (78′). Dortmund is now eight points behind FC Bayern.
“I saw a team that tried a lot under the circumstances today, but didn’t do everything right,” said Dortmund coach Marco Rose after the game DAZN. “We still had a lot of control over the game. Augsburg seemed unsure, we should have scored the second goal during that phase.”
Rose explained that the home side came up in the second half and equalized: “In the second half it was clear that we were losing a few strengths. Augsburg got into the game better, we were inattentive when we conceded. We have to get the point Live now. Small mistakes are punished with us and we always have to put in a lot of effort up front to score goals, sometimes we get them too easily at the back.”
Emre Can came to a similar conclusion. “We actually have big plans today. The first half was decent, after the break it wasn’t so good anymore. We weren’t active enough with the ball anymore. We have to learn to play our game for 90 minutes,” said the defensive man. His sobering conclusion: “It doesn’t do us any good if we say that we actually played a good game. I’m standing here and I always say the same thing.”
FCA, on the other hand, is not in the relegation zone for the first time since matchday 20. “We worked well and were well organized,” said coach Markus Weinzierl, who spoke of a “point win” and a “nice view of the table”.
FC Augsburg vs BVB: The analysis
Both teams built up a back three, with FCA concentrating mainly on closing the center compactly against the ball. That worked out well in the first half, the home side were aggressive and defended the Dortmund deep runs well. In order to avoid this attack, BVB remained very variable in the attacking third. There was a lot of movement there, so that Bellingham also switched to the wing or Guerreiro to the middle.
Augsburg’s defensive tactics often led the guests to the outside, BVB mostly came from the left – although the opening goal fell from the right side. With the constant movement, Borussia kept creating space, but around the penalty area they acted too awkwardly and not clear enough in the passing game. Dortmund also underwent some avoidable bad passes in the build-up.
Nothing changed in these events in the second half – but Dortmund came out of the dressing room with pressure and more offensive determination. Malen failed twice at the aluminum (51st bar, 55th post). Augsburg, on the other hand, remained staid offensively for a long time and hardly came to conclusions because, despite the pace and runs into the last third, there was a lack of consistency in front of the goal.
That changed after a little over an hour after the home side substituted fresh legs, pushed higher and were more present in midfield. Dortmund was now often the second winner in direct duels and reacted too indecisively to second balls. As a result, two substitutes, Gruezo and goalscorer Sarenren Bazee, played a key role in the undeserved equaliser. BVB also became far too static when in possession of the ball and no longer combined as reliably as before because the distances between them became too large.
FC Augsburg vs BVB: The lineups
Augsburg: Gikiewicz – Oxford, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai – Caligiuri, Maier, Dorsch (59th Gruezo), Pedersen (70th Iago) – Vargas (89th Günther), Gregoritsch (70th Sarenren Bazee), Pepi (59th Niederlechner).
Dortmund: Kobel – Can, Pongracic, Hummels, Guerreiro – Bellingham, Witsel, Dahoud (Reinier 82) – Hazard, Brandt (Wolf 68) – Malen (Moukoko 68).
FC Augsburg vs BVB: The dates of the game
Gates: 0-1 Hazard (35′), 1-1 Sarenren Bazee (78′)
- At the age of 25 years and 301 days, Dortmund’s Julian Brandt completed his 250th Bundesliga game and is the third youngest player in BL history to reach this mark at that time.
- Central defender Soumaila Coulibaly, who switched to BVB in the summer, was in the squad for the first time.
- FCA conceded as many BL goals against Dortmund (54) as against any other club.
The star of the game: Emre Can (BVB)
Was very stable defensively, won some good balls and exuded positive aggressiveness. He feels much more comfortable in the back three than in the back four.
The flop of the game: Ricardo Pepi (FC Augsburg)
The Augsburger Rekord-Einkauf was in the starting eleven for the third time, but lacked any penetrating power. The American only had 16 ball actions and played five of his ten passes to the opponent. Had to go down after a good hour.
The referee: Deniz Aytekin
In his 196th Bundesliga game with a confident appearance and the usual calm body language. Chose a slightly longer line and consistently followed it through.
