81,365 fans celebrate 4-3 win over Augsburg

Boris Rupert reporting

The 81,365 spectators at a sold-out SIGNAL IDUNA PARK saw Bellingham's opener on the half-hour mark followed by a flurry of three goals between the 40th and 45th minutes: Maier and Demirovic converted Augsburg's only two chances in the first half to make it 2-2 at the break, after Schlotterbeck had re-established BVB's lead in between. Three more goals came in the space of three minutes between the 75th and 78th minutes: substitutes Bynoe-Gittens and Reyna made it 3-2 and then 4-3 respectively, after Colina had levelled at 3-3.

The scenario:  
Borussia Dortmund went into their clash against the side in 15th place in seventh position themselves (after the Saturday games). Augsburg had lost three of their final four matches in 2022 and were winless in seven games, but had picked up 10 of their 15 points to date away from home. BVB had ended up on the losing side in only three of their previous 22 meetings, but FCA had consistently proven to be a tough nut to crack. After all, the Swabians had picked up points in six of their previous 12 Bundesliga meetings with the Black & Yellows (two wins and four draws).

Personnel matters: 
BVB went into the match without Can (minor muscular complaints), Meunier (torn muscle fibres) and Reus (ill), but with Haller (bench) and Ryerson (starting XI) for the first time. There were three changes – Ryerson, Özcan and Adeyemi in place of Süle, Can and Reyna – compared to the final game before the 72-day World Cup break.

Tactics: 
Augsburg lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with two attacking wingers and two strikers, and adopted a man-marking approach. BVB switched from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-1-4-1 whenever Bellingham moved up into attacking midfield, with Brandt then shifting over to the centre-left position.

The match & analysis:
The temperature might have been narrowly above freezing but the pitch was in top condition. The play in the opening quarter of an hour took place between the penalty areas, with the first two dangerous attempts recorded by Malen (18) and Guerreiro on the follow-up seconds later, but Gikiewicz intervened. BVB then upped the tempo and swiftly created further opportunities. After playing a one-two with Adeyemi, Brandt teed up Moukoko whose strike from a centre-right position around 11 metres out was well off target (22).

On the half-hour mark exactly, Bellingham started the move that led to his opener with a vertical pass to Adeyemi. After exchanging passes with Malen, he played the ball from the right of the box back towards Bellingham who unleashed a low effort from 16 metres out. Gikiewicz's view was obstructed. Malen broke through after a strong run down the left flank a minute later but Gouweleeuw prevented a quick second goal by clearing behind for a corner at the last moment.

BVB were dominating the game and their opponent, and seemed to have everything under control, but five minutes before the break Schlotterbeck lost the ball to Beljo, who played in Maier. The Augsburg man was lucky to get the better of Özcan and fired in an unstoppable effort to make it 1-1. Schlotterbeck immediately made amends for his error by powerfully heading a Brandt cross into the Augsburg goal for 2-1. With normal time almost up, BVB won another free-kick in a centre-right position and the delivery was played in towards Schlotterbeck's fellow centre-back Hummels, whose header was well saved by Gikiewicz. Hummels put his follow-up narrowly wide with an artistic effort. Augsburg then levelled the scores at 2-2 with their second chance on the stroke of half-time. After receiving the ball from Engels, Demirovic went through and beat Kobel. Ryerson got to the ball but could not clear it.

BVB also dominated the opening quarter of an hour after the restart but could not find a breakthrough against an alert Augsburg side. Instead, it was the visitors who threatened again with their first counter-attack but Demirovic, who had started from an offside position, fired just wide (61). Seconds later, Haller came on in place of Moukoko to a deafening applause; then, with 20 minutes remaining, there was a change-up in the wing forward positions with Reina and Bynoe Gittens entering the fray. After receiving the ball for the first time, the latter cut inside from the left, beat Gumny and fired BVB 3-2 ahead from 20 metres out. The 75th minute had only just begun. By the end of the 76th, it was 3-3. Yeboah's strike hit the post, only for Colina to slot home the follow-up. 77:42 was the time on the clock when Reyna spectacularly fired a shot from the right corner of the box into the top-left corner after Bellingham had flicked on Schlotterbeck's ball.

Further chances for a fifth goal followed, but there were some dangerous moments for FCA too.

Outlook:
The league is restarting with an "English week" that will now see BVB play away twice in succession: in Mainz on Wednesday (kick-off 18:30 CET) and against Leverkusen on Sunday (17:30 CET).

Teams & goals

Bundesliga Matchday 16
BORUSSIA DORTMUND 4-3 (2-2) FC AUGSBURG

Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro – Özcan – Adeyemi (Bynoe-Gittens, 70), Bellingham, Brandt (Brandt, 90+1), Malen (Reyna, 70) – Moukoko (Haller, 62)
FC Augsburg: Gikiewicz – Gumny, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai, Pedersen – Engels, Rexhbecaj (Colina, 76) – Maier (Baumgartlinger, 76), Vargas (Cardona, 12; Jensen, 64) – Beljo (Yeboah, 76), Demirovic
Substitutes: Meyer, Dahoud, Hazard, Wolf, Modeste – Koubek, Caligiuri, Bauer, Jensen, Dorsch
Goals: 1-0 Bellingham (Adeyemi, 30), 1-1 Maier (Beljo, 40), 2-1 Schlotterbeck (Brandt, 42), 2-2 Demirovic (Engels, 45+1), 3-2 Bynoe-Gittens (75), 3-3 Colina (Yeboah, 76), 4-3 Reyna (Bellingham, 78)
Corners: 7-3 (4-2 at half-time), chance ratio: 14-4 (6-2)
Referee: Willenborg (Osnabrück), yellow cards: Bellingham (5, suspended) – Cardona, Jensen, Engels
Attendance: 81,365 (sold-out), weather: overcast, 1 degree