After last week's 4-0 thumping of Borussia Monchengladbach, expectations were high before the game with our statistically favourite opponents. We hadn't lost to Augsburg in 20 games in the Bundesliga and today we made that number 21. We began with an unchanged lineup as why would Seoane need to change a winning team? Though the players remained the same, the performance level was very different. Whether it was an under-estimation of Augsburg, overconfidence or just physical, we played with a noticeably lower level of intensity which meant that they were a present danger to us for the duration of the match.
It only took them 20 seconds for them to produce their first big chance which, in fairness, could be put down to a lack of focus which is understandable. We responded to this initial scare superbly however with a good foray forward resulting in a delightful chip which floated beautifully over the keeper - from Augsburg left back Iago, after good pressing by Schick - in just the 3rd minute. It would be the first of a series of comedic blunders. The next came quickly after. In the 14th minute, Demirbay fizzed a cross into the box after a short corner which Niederlechner attacked, leaving Gikiewicz no chance yet again. The Augsburg striker would make up for the blunder, at the expense of one of our own. In the 30th minute, Iago crossed the ball into the box but nobody was there to meet it. Bakker, attempted to the control the ball, seemingly with nobody near him, before swinging to clear - missing the ball. Meanwhile, there must have been a communication problem as Hradecky rushed out to catch the ball (he also failed) and Niederlechner's pressure complicated things further. He slid to tackle Bakker, winning the ball and we had to watch the ball agonisingly roll across the line in what can only be described as one of the ugliest goals I have ever seen. From that point, Augsburg felt rejuvenated. Just before half time though, the game looked done and dusted. Schick took the ball past the goalkeeper, missed, but got the ball back again, took it past the keeper again, finding Diaby who smashed it into the net for what would have been his 3rd Bundesliga goal of the season. VAR cancelled the goal as it was spotted that Aranguiz had handled the ball in the buildup.
The second half saw a lot of defending on our part, but we were up to the challenge putting everything on the line. Kossounou especially could vouch for that after he had a ball slam into his private parts leaving him very winded. That wasn't to say it was one way traffic. We were able to utilise our speed to great effect on the counter attack. Diaby was able to pass a ball through to Schick who saw his shot go well over the bar for example in the 58th minute. The substitution of Wirtz would prove decisive. First he assisted Schick who finessed his shot into the top left corner in the 75th minute and in the 82nd minute, he got a goal of his own, dribbling past a rushing Gikiewicz before passing the goal into an empty net from a tight angle outside the box. Both goals came from quick counterattacks. Before the game was done, we could have easily made it five or six goals with Schick and debutant Adli hitting the woodwork.
In regard to individual performances, I shall start with Bakker - the player culpable for the 2-1. In general he had a much quieter and less influential game than last week but whilst he was in the main unspectacular, he really should have done better for our conceded goal but worse, he nearly gave away a penalty for the second game running. If Bakker continues in this vein, I fear he might become a liability. I appreciate his aggressiveness, and I do think he is an asset offensively and a class above Wendell, but he has to be told to turn it down a bit - at least around the penalty area. If another referee was on the pitch, the penalty might have been given and the outcome of the game could have been drastically different. That being said, a goal could have also resulted had he not taken that risk.
Diaby once again was extremely important for us. It was unfortunate that his goal was disallowed but his pace, dribbling and decision-making were instrumental in creating a number of good chances. He also proved his worth defensively, stopping an Augsburg counterattack from Vargas, though realistically he never stood a chance anyway. Schick was another good performer, despite some of the big chances he missed, as he persevered to score and was a significant part of our build-up play. Another player I thought had a notable game was of course Wirtz. He came on replacing Paulinho who also didn't really build on last week's good showing. His goal and assist secured the win of course and that also gave him a G/A rate of one every 11 minutes. He is going to have a season to remember. Demirbay was also decisive.
Overall, one can be nothing but satisfied with the performance. We didn't play perfectly and we were also quite lucky to not get punished by Augsburg at times. That being said, that only makes me more optimistic. A sign of a great team is to be able to win without playing well. Such a convincing win says everything. Next stop Dortmund - hopefully we revert to our Gladbach mentality as I doubt Haaland and co will be as merciful as Augsburg!
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