After being battered 6-0 at the WWK Arena by RB Leipzig last Saturday before being knocked out by second-tier Bochum in the DFB-Pokal three days later at the same venue, Augsburg will have been desperately looking to make amends in front of their own fans.
The game started off well enough for them as they displayed some much-needed solidity and also had the first half-chance of the contest on 20 minutes as Dimitris Giannoulis’ cross found Mert Komur, but the 20-year-old fluffed his lines from an angle.
Die Fuggerstadter could not hold out until half-time though, as with the first shot on target of the match, Serhou Guirassy slotted in despite Finn Dahmen’s best efforts after Chrislain Matsima’s attempted defensive header bounced off teammate Han-Noah Massengo and into the striker’s grateful path, giving him his first league goal in six matches.
If Waldemar Anton had been sharper in the Augsburg box, he may have been able to convert from a Pascal Gross corner, but visiting manager Niko Kovac would have been happy enough at the break.
To their credit, Augsburg came out for the second half looking unaffected by being a goal down as they looked to get back on level terms among the trails of smoke emanating from the Dortmund fans’ pyrotechnics. However, that spell of promise gave way to a period of Dortmund control, although chances remained at a premium.
Ironically, it was recently introduced Dortmund substitute Jobe Bellingham, brought on to bring calm to the midfield, who helped create Augsburg’s biggest opportunity of the night up until that point as his poor touch allowed the ball to be slipped through to Elvis Rexhbecaj, only for the Englishman to get back and put in a superb challenge.
Dortmund, marshalled by the excellent Ramy Bensebaini, ultimately ground out what was their fourth successive victory in all competitions – including penalty shoot-outs – and next face Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Augsburg, who remain 15th and just three points above the bottom three, will lick their wounds once more ahead of a Bundesliga trip to VfB Stuttgart next Sunday.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ramy Bensebaini (Borussia Dortmund)
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