41,000 fans celebrate 2-1 win over Augsburg

Boris Rupert reporting from Signal Iduna Park

The match had long sold out its initial capacity of 25,000 spectators, but within 48 hours, a further 16,000 tickets had been snapped up. This was made possible by the new Coronavirus Protection Regulations, which came into force yesterday. The 41,000 fans in attendance had an early 1-0 lead to celebrate when Raphael Guerreiro slotted home a penalty in the 10th minute. Andi Zeqiri then drew Augsburg level ten minutes before the break. After Brandt scored to make it 2-1 (51), BVB missed three gilt-edged chances, hitting the crossbar and the post, but nonetheless managed to get a narrow victory over the line.

The scenario:  
Fourth against 15th. BVB were the favourites thanks to their strong home form (seven straight wins) and good record against FCA: the Black & Yellows had won their last three home games against Augsburg, scoring 12 goals in the process (4-3, 5-1, 3-1).

Personnel matters: 
BVB were without the services of Dahoud (injured and suspended), Haaland (thigh bruise), Morey (rehab training), Reyna (muscle injury) and Zagadou (lacking match fitness). Rose made two changes to the side that beat Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday: Brandt and Wolf moved into the XI to replace Dahoud and Hazard, who suffered discomfort in the final pre-game training session and thus started on the bench.

Tactics:  
BVB lined up in a 4-3-3 formation and regularly opted to overload the right side, with midfielders Brandt and Bellingham shifting over to share the space with Meunier, who moved well up the pitch when in possession. This meant the Black & Yellows were often arranged in a 3-3-4 system in build-up play. Augsburg, for their part, played with five at the back. Without the ball, Zeqiri, Maier and Cordova formed FCA's first pressing line. In possession, Maier played in the hole behind the two strikers.

The match & analysis:
Donyell Malen was at the heart of the action in the opening 15 minutes. In the ninth minute, Gouweleeuw caught the Dutchman's right ankle from behind as he tried to keep the ball in play in the box. Guerreiro stepped up to take the penalty and duly slotted home his first ever spotkick for BVB to make it 1-0. Not long afterwards, an Augsburg attack broke down and Malen drove into space on the left. He skipped past Oxford before the defender hauled him to the ground from behind. It looked like Oxford was the last man and thus a red card would be deserved, but referee Welz deemed that another FCA player would have been able to get back and block Malen's route to goal, meaning a yellow card was shown. 

Although the Black & Yellows were the better of the two sides (70% possession midway through the first half), their performance was far from perfect. Augsburg, despite their defensive set-up, managed to work the ball into the BVB area on several occasions and in the 35th minute, they drew level at 1-1. After Witsel was dispossessed in midfield, Maier powered forward down the middle and unleashed a shot from 25 metres out. His effort rattled back off the bar, but Zeqiri was on hand to finish on the follow-up. 

After half-time, the visitors maintained their aggression and tight marking, but Borussia responded by upping the tempo. In the 51st minute, Wolf drove past two Augsburg players on the left and played a pass to Reus in the centre, who duly forwarded it to Brandt. The 25-year-old took a touch and then drilled a shot into the bottom corner from 16 metres out to give BVB a 2-1 lead. Immediately afterwards, Zeqiri celebrated what looked like the equaliser to make it 2-2, but the play was called back as the Augsburg striker had caught Akanji in the face in the build-up. 

Hazard came onto the field of play to replace the injured Meunier. He slotted in on the left wing, with Wolf moving over to occupy the right-back role. However, he lost none of his attacking verve: in the 57th minute, Gikiewicz had to have his wits about him to keep out Wolf's long-range thunderbolt. Reus then struck the bar on the follow-up. Down the other end, Kobel did well to deny Pedersen (58).

There was little goalmouth action in the first half, but now the chances were coming in thick and fast. In the 66th minute, Hazard found himself clear on goal after Bellingham's pass from the right wing. He looked certain to score, but perhaps tried to be too precise and ended up hitting the post from 16 metres out. Reus then missed another chance to put the game to bed, firing the ball over the bar from a promising position in the 70th minute. 

Shortly afterwards, Wolf had to go off injured, meaning Guerreiro moved over to right back. Hummels then also had to depart the field of play, which resulted in an all-new back four of Guerreiro, Akanji, Pongracic and Schulz.

Outlook: 
The league is set to pause for the second international break of the season. BVB are next in action on 16 October, when they host Mainz 05.

Teams & goals