50 Bundesliga wins as Augsburg coach for Markus Weinzierl – Sunday’s 4-1 win over VfB Stuttgart was only his second of the season. But he had a recognisable pattern.
Much like in the Pokal exit in Bochum, after which Pedersen and Finnbogason moved into the starting eleven for Iago (hand injury) and Hahn (bench), FC Augsburg once again fell behind early: Oxford had already got away with a booking in the penalty area against Al Ghaddioui (2nd), when Führich finished off a solo effort from 18 metres right into the short corner (7th).
The VfB in injury trouble
The VfB, compared to the 0:2 in the cup against Cologne with Anton and Al Ghaddioui instead of Mavropanos (torn muscle fibre) and Coulibaly (bench), was initially the better team. For a long time, however, FCA did not manage to get beyond pinpricks by Zeqiri (15th) and Vargas (25th). But when the visitors had to replace the injured Führich (22.) and Kempf (39.), the tide turned.
Augsburg acted with more and more determination, Stuttgart lost the thread. When Oxford rose high after a corner and headed in the 1:1 (30.), it was deserved in the meantime. On the VfB side, who did not play their counterattacks well, only Didavi had a good chance in the first half (35th), otherwise the home side were closer to a second goal before the break.
Augsburg standards: It’s becoming clear
After the restart, Markus Weinzierl’s side, who were on the verge of their 50th Bundesliga win as FCA coach, remained noticeably in control. In an established manner, they managed to turn the game around early on: After a corner, Bredlow came out a little too late and Gouweleeuw headed in the 2:1 (53rd).
And the 3:1 was more in the air than the 2:2. Augsburg found their game better and better, switched over in a very dangerous way. When Stuttgart’s efforts had died down after a reply (Klimowicz 55., Mangala 56.), Finnbogason actually already had the preliminary decision on his foot – but Mola threw himself in between (64.).
A little later, the attacker had more luck as a provider: Once again, a standard led to Finnbogason’s lucky pass to Niederlechner – the joker did not have to ask twice in the five-yard box (72). In the final phase – the roles were clearly distributed – the matter threatened to become really clear, and it did: VfB was pretty much penniless, Finnbogason also proved himself as a goal scorer. He scored the deserved 4:1 final score with a low shot (81.).
The FCA, who have not yet managed to climb out of 16th place in the table, are in action at VfL Wolfsburg next Saturday (15.30). At the same time, VfB, still winless away from home, will take on Arminia Bielefeld.
