Wasteful Borussia Dortmund edge past FC Augsburg
By Tushar Bahl
Borussia Dortmund missed a host of big chances but managed to get the job done against FC Augsburg, earning a hard fought 2-1 win.
Goals from Raphael Guerriero and Julian Brandt proved to be enough for Borussia Dortmund in the end, as they earned a narrow 2-1 win over FC Augsburg in front of 41,000 supporters at the Signal Iduna Park on Saturday afternoon. But it could have been a very different story had Augsburg taken full advantage of the tired legs in the Dortmund ranks and offered more of an attacking threat.
Marco Rose made two changes to the team that earned a 1-0 win over Sporting CP on Tuesday. Julian Brandt replaced Mahmoud Dahoud, while Marius Wolf came into the team for Thorgan Hazard.
Borussia Dortmund started the game on the front foot and got their reward in the tenth minute as Donyell Malen was fouled inside the box by Jeffrey Gouweleeuw. Raphael Guerriero coolly slotted home the resulting penalty into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
The Black and Yellows dominated possession for the majority of the first half, but they weren’t able to make the most of it. And Augsburg delivered a sucker punch in the 35th minute when Andi Zeqiri reacted quickly to turn home the equaliser after Arne Maier hit the woodwork with a long range effort.
The game became stretched in the second half as Augsburg looked to take advantage of Borussia Dortmund’s tiredness after their mid-week excursions. Their high pressing led to a few difficult and nervy moments for the Dortmund defence.
But Borussia Dortmund got their noses back in front in the 51st minute after a quick-fire counter attack that saw Julian Brandt find the bottom corner with a precise finish from the edge of the box. Marco Rose’s side had a number of good chances to add to their lead, and were twice denied by the woodwork.
Next. Player Ratings from Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 win over FC Augsburg. dark
Borussia Dortmund’s injury woes threatened to hurt them once again, as Thomas Meunier, Mats Hummels and Marius Wolf were all forced off in the second half. But Augsburg weren’t able to pose much of a threat late on and Dortmund got the job done in the end to make it eight Bundesliga wins in a row at the Signal Iduna Park.